Interferon Alpha and Omega Antibody Antagonists

ABSTRACT

Broadly neutralizing interferon-α and interferon-ω antibody antagonists, polynucleotides encoding the antibodies or fragments, and methods of making and using the foregoing are usefule in the treatment of diseases associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/707,317, filed 18 Sep. 2017, currently allowed, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/208,861, filed 13 Mar. 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,902,770, issued 27 Feb. 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/788,302, filed 15 Mar. 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

SEQUENCE LISTING

The instant application contains a Sequence Listing which has been submitted electronically in ASCII format and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Said ASCII copy, created on 6 Nov. 2018, is named JBI5025USDIV2SEQLIST.txt and is 47,026 bytes in size.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to broadly neutralizing interferon-α and interferon-ω antibody antagonists, polynucleotides encoding the antibodies or fragments, and methods of making and using the foregoing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Type I IFNs are a family of cytokines that all signal through an ubiquitously expressed heterodimeric receptor (IFNAR) resulting in antiviral, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects. In humans, type I IFN is composed of at least 12 IFNα protein subtypes and 1 subtype each for IFNβ, IFNε, IFNκ, and IFNω. Induction of type I IFN occurs in response to both sterile and microbial ligands. While the antiviral and antiproliferative effects of type I IFN have been exploited in the clinic for infectious disease and oncologic indications, antagonists of type I IFN are being developed for immune-mediated inflammatory indications.

Multiple immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, such as SLE, type I diabetes, psoriasis, primary Sjögren's disease, systemic sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, exhibit evidence of elevated type IFN to various degrees as determined by the overabundance of IFN-inducible gene transcripts commonly called the IFN-signature present in whole blood and/or tissue.

Type I IFN antagonist approaches currently in clinical development for lupus include multiple approaches to neutralize IFNα subtypes and not other type I IFNs (β, ε, κ, ω) using anti-IFNα antibodies, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,087,726, 8,025,882 and U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. US2008/0160030. Clinical trial data indicates partial reduction of the type I IFN signature in patients treated with anti-IFNα antibodies (Merrill et al., Ann Rheum D is 70:1905-1913, 2011; Yao et al., Arthritis Rheum 60:1785-1796, 2009) and improvement in signs and symptoms of SLE, flare rates, and steroid burden at week 24 in a pre-specified biomarker defined group of Interferon Signature Metric (ISM)-Low moderate to severely active lupus subjects. No efficacy was seen in patients pre-defined as ISM-High (Kalunian et al., 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting; Abstract #2622, 2012).

Anti-IFNAR1 antibodies are an alternative to treat lupus (Wang et al., 2013; Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics accepted article preview 14 Feb. 2013; doi: 10.1038/clpt.2013.35). IFNAR1 blockade would be predicted to abolish IFN signaling induced by all type I IFNs, including IFNβ. IFNβ may play a more critical role in antiviral defense, as specific deletion of the gene encoding IFNβ incurs substantial susceptibility to a host of viruses when compared to similarly exposed mice having functional IFNβ (Lazear et al., J Virol 85:7186-7194, 2011; Deonarain et al., J Virol 74: 3404-340, 2000; Deonarain et al., Circulation 110: 3540-3543, 2004; Gerlach, et al., J Virol 80: 3438-3444, 2006).

Therefore, there is a need for additional antibodies for the treatment of lupus and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show inhibition of IP-10 release in whole blood induced by FIG. 1A) 100 U/ml endogenous leukocyte IFN (viral induced) or FIG. 1B) 250 U/ml recombinant human IFNω at specified concentrations.

FIG. 2 shows inhibition of Type I IFN induced by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient-derived immune complex by various antibodies as indicated. Combination of anti-IFNα1 and anti-IFNω, anti-IFNα2 and anti-IFNω or anti-IFNα3 and anti-IFNω provides more pronounced inhibition when compared to the anti-IFNα antibody alone. Broadly neutralizing anti-IFNα/IFNω antibody (M43) demonstrated further suppression of total activity.

FIG. 3 shows percent (%) inhibition of elevated SLE gene signature with anti-IFNω, anti-IFNα antibody or a combination of the two. Baseline elevated IFN-inducible gene expression in the absence of antibody treatment is normalized to 100%.

FIG. 4 shows the overall molecular structure of IFNω/FabM43 complex. Labeled H is VH; labeled L is VL, and top left is IFNω.

FIG. 5 shows the overall molecular structures of FIG. 5A IFNα4A/Fab357 and 5B IFNω/Fab357 complexes. Only the Fv part is shown for the Fab. Fab537 is Fab of C2595.

FIG. 6 (6A) shows the overall molecular structure of IFNα4A/FabM88 complex. 6B shows representative electron density (2mFo-DFc at 1.5σ) around the part of epitope region in the antigen combining site. Labeld H is VH; labeled L is VL; top left is IFNα4A.

FIG. 7 shows the IFNα4A structure and comparison with IFNω and IFNα. 7A shows IFNα4A. The five main helices are labeled. The long connecting loop AB is also labeled next to the short helical segment. 7B shows IFNω (pdb code 3se4) and 7C shows IFNβ (pdb id 1au1). 7D shows structural comparison with IFNβ. The main differences around the AB helical segment are indicated by an oval.

FIG. 8. Mode of neutralization by M88. The IFNω/IFNAR1/IFNAR2 structure (pdb id 3se4) and M88/IFNα4 are overlaid on the IFNs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention is an isolated monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes.

In other aspects of the invention, the isolated antibody competes for binding to the human IFNα and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising:

-   -   a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID         NO: 23 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or     -   a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28.

In further aspects of the invention, the isolated antibody binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 1; the isolated antibody binds IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 19; the isolated antibody inhibits activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) immune complex-induced IFN.

Additional aspects of the invention are an isolated polynucleotide encoding an antibody of the invention; and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody of the invention and a pharmaceuticallyaccepted carrier.

A further aspect of the invention is a method of treating or preventing a disease associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of an isolated antibody of the invention to a patient in need thereof for a time sufficient to treat or prevent the disease. In an additional aspect of the invention, the disease associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Another aspect of the invention is a method of inhibiting interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR in a patient need thereof, comprising administering an isolated antibody of the invention to a patient for a time sufficient to prevent the interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

All publications, including but not limited to patents and patent applications, cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as though fully set forth.

It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains.

Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice for testing of the present invention, exemplary materials and methods are described herein. In describing and claiming the present invention, the following terminology will be used.

The term “specific binding” or “specifically binds” or “binds” as used herein refers to antibody binding to a predetermined antigen with greater affinity than for other antigens. Typically, the antibody binds to a predetermined antigen with a dissociation constant (K_(D)) of 1×10⁻⁷ M or less, for example 1×10⁻⁸ M or less, 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less, or 1×10⁻¹² M or less, typically with a K_(D) that is at least ten fold less than its K_(D) for binding to a non-specific antigen or epitope (e.g., BSA, casein). The dissociation constant can be measured using standard procedures. Antibodies that specifically bind to a predetermined antigen may, however, have cross-reactivity to other related antigens, for example to the same predetermined antigen from other species (homologs), such as human or monkey, for example Macaca fascicularis (cynomolgus, cyno) or Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee, chimp). Antibodies that specifically bind to a predetermined antigen can further bind an epitope that is shared between two or more distinct antigens such as interferon alpha (IFNα) and interferon omega (IFNω); i.e. antibodies cross-react with IFNα and IFNω.

The term “neutralizing” or “neutralizes” or “neutralizing antibody” or “antibody antagonist” as used herein refers to an antibody or antibody fragment that partially or completely inhibits, by any mechanism, interferon alpha (IFNα) and/or interferon omega (IFNω) biological activity. Neutralizing antibodies can be identified using assays for IFNα and/or IFNω biological activity as described below. IFNα and/or IFNω neturalizing antibody may inhibit measured IFNα and IFNω biological activity by 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100%.

The term “interferon-α” (IFNα) as used herein refers to all native subtypes of human alpha interferons. Native IFNα consists of more than 23 closely related protein subtypes encoded by distinct genes with a high degree of structural homology (Weissmann and Weber, Prog. Nucl. Acid. Res. Mol. Biol., 33: 251, 1986; Roberts et al., J. Interferon Cytokine Res. 18: 805-816, 1998). The human IFNα subtypes are at least IFNαA (IFNα2) (SEQ ID NO: 5), IFNαB2 (IFNα8) (SEQ ID NO: 6), IFNαC (IFNα10) (SEQ ID NO: 7), IFNαD (IFNα1) (SEQ ID NO: 8), IFNαF (IFNα21) (SEQ ID NO: 9), IFNαG (IFNα5) (SEQ ID NO: 10), and IFNαH (IFNα14) (SEQ ID NO: 11), IFNαI with P34H substitution (IFNα17) (SEQ ID NO: 12), IFNαJ1 (IFNα7) (SEQ ID NO: 14), IFNαK (IFNα6) (SEQ ID NO: 14), IFNα4b (IFNα4) (SEQ ID NO: 15), and IFNαWA (IFNα6) (SEQ ID NO: 16). Nomenclature for human interferons is found at: http://www_genenames_org/genefamilies/_IFN.

The term IFNω as used herein refers to human IFNω having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and UniProt accession number P05000.

The term “type I interferon” refers to all native subtypes of human interferon-α and one subtype of interferon-β, interferon-ε, interferon-ω and interferon-κ which bind to a common interferon receptor IFNAR.

As used herein the term “IFNAR” refers to the well-known interferon receptor which is a heterodimer or IFNAR1 and IFNAR2. IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 protein sequences are shown in SEQ ID NOs: 3 land 32, respectively. IFNAR1 mature extracellular domain spans residues 28-436 of SEQ ID NO: 31 and IFNAR2 mautre extracelluar domain spans residues 27-243 of SEQ ID NO: 32.

The term “antibodies” as used herein is meant in a broad sense and includes immunoglobulin molecules including polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies including murine, human, human-adapted, humanized and chimeric monoclonal antibodies, antibody fragments, bispecific or multispecific antibodies formed from at least two intact antibodies or antibody fragments, dimeric, tetrameric or multimeric antibodies, and single chain antibodies.

Immunoglobulins can be assigned to five major classes, namely IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM, depending on the heavy chain constant domain amino acid sequence. IgA and IgG are further sub-classified as the isotypes IgA₁, IgA₂, IgG₁, IgG₂, IgG₃ and IgG₄. Antibody light chains of any vertebrate species can be assigned to one of two clearly distinct types, namely kappa (κ) and lambda (λ), based on the amino acid sequences of their constant domains.

The term “antibody fragments” refers to a portion of an immunoglobulin molecule that retains the heavy chain and/or the light chain antigen binding site, such as a heavy chain complementarity determining regions (HCDR) 1, 2 and 3, a light chain complementarity determining regions (LCDR) 1, 2 and 3, a heavy chain variable region (VH), or a light chain variable region (VL). Antibody fragments include well known Fab, F(ab′)2, Fd and Fv fragments as well as a domain antibodies (dAb) consisting one VH domain. VH and VL domains can be linked together via a synthetic linker to form various types of single chain antibody designs where the VH/VL domains pair intramolecularly, or intermolecularly in those cases when the VH and VL domains are expressed by separate single chain antibody constructs, to form a monovalent antigen binding site, such as single chain Fv (scFv) or diabody; described for example in Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1998/44001, Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1988/01649; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1994/13804; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1992/01047.

An antibody variable region consists of a “framework” region interrupted by three “antigen binding sites”. The antigen binding sites are defined using various terms: (i) Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs), three in the VH (HCDR1, HCDR2, HCDR3), and three in the VL (LCDR1, LCDR2, LCDR3), are based on sequence variability (Wu and Kabat, J Exp Med 132:211-50, 1970; Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., 1991). (ii) “Hypervariable regions”, “HVR”, or “HV”, three in the VH (H1, H2, H3) and three in the VL (L1, L2, L3), refer to the regions of an antibody variable domains which are hypervariable in structure as defined by Chothia and Lesk (Chothia and Lesk, Mol Biol 196:901-17, 1987). Other terms include “IMGT-CDRs” (Lefranc et al., Dev Comparat Immunol 27:55-77, 2003) and “Specificity Determining Residue Usage” (SDRU) (Almagro, Mol Recognit 17:132-43, 2004). The International ImMunoGeneTics (IMGT) database (http://www_imgt_org) provides a standardized numbering and definition of antigen-binding sites. The correspondence between CDRs, HVs and IMGT delineations is described in Lefranc et al., Dev Comparat Immunol 27:55-77, 2003.

“Chothia residues” as used herein are the antibody VL and VH residues numbered according to Al-Lazikani (Al-Lazikani et al., J Mol Biol 273:927-48, 1997).

“Framework” or “framework sequences” are the remaining sequences of a variable region other than those defined to be antigen binding site. Because the antigen binding site can be defined by various terms as described above, the exact amino acid sequence of a framework depends on how the antigen-binding site was defined.

“Human antibody” or “fully human antibody” refers to an antibody containing variable region and constant region sequences derived from human immunoglobulin sequences. Human antibodies of the invention may include substitutions so that they may not be exact copies of expressed human immunoglobulin or germline gene sequences. However, antibodies in which antigen binding sites are derived from a non-human species are not included in the definition of “human antibody”.

“Human-adapted” antibodies or “human framework adapted (HFA)” antibodies refer to antibodies adapted according to methods described in U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2009/0118127 and also refers to antibodies in which antigen-binding site sequences derived from non-human species are grafted onto human frameworks.

“Humanized antibodies” refers to antibodies in which the antigen binding sites are derived from non-human species and the variable region frameworks are derived from human immunoglobulin sequences. Humanized antibodies may include substitutions in the framework regions so that the framework may not be an exact copy of expessed human immunoglobulin or germline gene sequences.

The term “monoclonal antibody” as used herein refers to a preparation of antibody molecules of single molecular composition. A monoclonal antibody composition displays a single binding specificity and affinity for a particular epitope.

The term “substantially identical” as used herein means that the two antibody variable region amino acid sequences being compared are identical or have “insubstantial differences”. Insubstantial differences are substitutions of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 amino acids in an antibody or antibody variable region sequence that do not adversely affect antibody properties. Amino acid sequences substantially identical to the variable region sequences disclosed herein are within the scope of the application. In some embodiments, the sequence identity can be about 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or higher. Percent identity can be determined for example by pairwise alignment using the default settings of the AlignX module of Vector NTI v.9.0.0 (Invitrogen, Carslbad, Calif.). The protein sequences of the present invention can be used as a query sequence to perform a search against public or patent databases to, for example, identify related sequences. Exemplary programs used to perform such searches are the XBLAST or BLASTP programs (http_//www_ncbi_nlm/nih_gov), or the GenomeQuest™ (GenomeQuest, Westborough, Mass.) suite using the default settings.

The term “epitope” as used herein means a portion of an antigen to which an antibody specifically binds. Epitopes usually consist of chemically active (such as polar, non-polar or hydrophobic) surface groupings of moieties such as amino acids or polysaccharide side chains and can have specific three-dimensional structural characteristics, as well as specific charge characteristics. An epitope can be composed of contiguous and/or discontiguous amino acids that form a conformational spatial unit. For a discontiguous epitope, amino acids from differing portions of the linear sequence of the antigen come in close proximity in 3-dimensional space through the folding of the protein molecule.

The term “paratope” as used herein means a portion of an antibody to which an antigen specifically binds. A paratope can be linear in nature or can be discontinuous, formed by a spatial relationship between non-contiguous amino acids of an antibody rather than a linear series of amino acids. A “light chain paratope” and a “heavy chain paratope” or “light chain paratope amino acid residues” and “heavy chain paratope amino acid residues” refer to antibody light chain and heavy chain residues in contact with an antigen, respectively.

“Bispecific” as used herein refers to an antibody that binds two distinct antigens or two discinct epitopes within an antigen. The bispecific antibodies may bind two or more distinct antigens in those cases where the bispecific antibodies cross-react with IFNα and IFNω.

“Monospecific” as used herein refers to an antibody that binds one antigen or one epitope. The monospecific antibodies may bind two or more distinct antigens in those cases where the monospecific antibodies cross-react with IFNα and IFNω.

The term “in combination with” as used herein means that the described agents can be administered to an animal together in a mixture, concurrently as single agents or sequentially as single agents in any order.

The term “IFNα biological activity” and “IFNω biological activity” as used herein refers to any activity occurring as a result of IFNα and IFNω, respectively, binding to its receptor IFNAR. One IFNα and IFNω biological activity is the ability of IFNα and IFNω to induce secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) expression under the interferon inducible promoter such as ISG54 in HEK293 cells stably expressing signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (STAT2), interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) and SEAP using standard methods. Another IFNα and IFNω biological activity is the induction of chemokine IP-10 (CXCL10) production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or whole blood as described herein.

TABLE 1 Three-letter One-letter Amino acid code code Alanine ala A Arginine arg R Asparagine asn N Aspartate asp D Cysteine cys C Glutamate glu E Glutamine gln Q Glycine gly G Histidine his H Isoleucine ile I Leucine leu L Lysine lys K Methionine met M Phenylalanine phe F Proline pro P Serine ser S Threonine thr T Tryptophan trp W Tyrosine tyr Y Valine val V

The term “vector” means a polynucleotide capable of being duplicated within a biological system or that can be moved between such systems. Vector polynucleotides typically contain elements, such as origins of replication, polyadenylation signal or selection markers, that function to facilitate the duplication or maintenance of these polynucleotides in a biological system. Examples of such biological systems may include a cell, virus, animal, plant, and reconstituted biological systems utilizing biological components capable of duplicating a vector. The polynucleotide comprising a vector may be DNA or RNA molecules or a hybrid of these.

The term “expression vector” means a vector that can be utilized in a biological system or in a reconstituted biological system to direct the translation of a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide sequence present in the expression vector.

The term “polynucleotide” means a molecule comprising a chain of nucleotides covalently linked by a sugar-phosphate backbone or other equivalent covalent chemistry. Double and single-stranded DNAs and RNAs are typical examples of polynucleotides.

The term “polypeptide” or “protein” means a molecule that comprises at least two amino acid residues linked by a peptide bond to form a polypeptide. Small polypeptides of less than 50 amino acids may be referred to as “peptides”.

Conventional one and three-letter amino acid codes are used herein as shown in Table 1.

Compositions of Matter

The present invention provides monoclonal antibodies that bind to and neutralize activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and multiple human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes (IFNα/ω antibodies). The invention is based, at least in part, on the identification of a minimal neutralizing epitope shared by IFNω and multiple IFNα subtypes to which the IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention bind. The IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention are more potent in neutralizing SLE-relevant preparations of type I IFN and IFN signatures than antibodies neutralizing IFNα subtypes but not IFNω, and may therefore be more efficacious in treating any disease that is associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω, such as immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. As the IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention do not neutralize IFNβ, they may have more favorable safety and PK profiles when compared to the anti-IFNAR therapies, which are expected to block all type I IFNs. “IFNα/ω antibodies” as used herein refers to antibodies that bind to and neutralize INFω and multiple IFNα subtypes as exemplified herein.

One embodiment of the invention is a monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes.

The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and IFNαJ1. The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG and IFNαJ1. The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1 and IFNαA. The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA and IFNαH2. The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA, IFNαH2 and IFNαK. The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA, IFNαH2, IFNαK and IFNαWA. The antibodies of the invention may neutralize IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA IFNαH2, IFNαK, IFNαWA and IFNα4a.

The antibodies of the invention can be tested for their ability to neutralize IFNα and IFNω in a reporter gene assay using cell lines expressing reporter genes under an interferon responsive promoter, and stimulating cells with various IFNα subtypes and/or IFNω. For example, HEK-Blue™ IFN-α/β cells (InvivoGen, San Diego, Calif.) engineered to express a fully active type I IFN signaling pathway (stably expressing STAT2 and IRF9) and transfected with a SEAP reporter gene under the control of the IFNα/β inducible ISG54 promoter can be used as described herein. Signal from the alkaline phosphatase can be detected using well known reagents and the signal can be read on a spectrophotometer, and an IC₅₀ can be calculated for the inhibition using standard methods.

In one embodiment, the antibodies of the invention inhibit the activity of the human IFNω with an IC₅₀ value of about 5×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less or about 1×10⁻¹² M or less, and inhibits the activity of the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 with an IC₅₀ value of about 5×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less or about 1×10⁻¹² M or less, when the activity of the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes is inhibition of secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) expression under the interferon inducible ISG54 promoter in HEK293 cells stably expressing signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (STAT2), interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) and SEAP. The antibodies of the invention “neturalize” IFNω and/or any IFNα subtype when the IC₅₀ value is about 5×10⁻⁸ or less, for example about 1×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less, or about 1×10⁻¹² M or less in the assay “ISRE reporter gene assay” as described herein in Example 3.

Antibodies of the invention can also be tested for their IFNα and IFNω neutralizing ability by assessing their ability to inhibit IFN-induced cytokine release, such as IP-10 release from IFN-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or whole blood. For example, PBMCs are isolated from heparinized whole blood from healthy volunteers using standard protocols, treated with a preformed complex of IFN and antibody to be tested, and IP-10 release is measured using standard methods such as Milliplex cytokine/chemokine kit (Millipore, Premixed 39 plex). Antibodies that neutralize IFNα and IFNω may inhibit IP-10 release by at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% when compared to IFN-induced IP-10 release in the absence of the antibody.

Antibodies of the invention may bind and neutralize least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten IFNα subtypes in addition to neutralizing IFNω. The IFNα subtypes and IFNω may be produced by recombinant expression using standard methods. Exemplary signal sequences that can be used for directing secretion are shown in SEQ ID NOs: 17-21.

The antibodies of the invention bind human IFNω with a dissociation constant (K_(D)) of about 5×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹² M or less or about 1×10⁻¹² M or less, and bind the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 with a K_(D) of about 5×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹² M or less, or about 1×10⁻¹² M or less.

The affinity of an antibody to IFNω or IFNα subtypes can be determined experimentally using any suitable method. Such methods may utilize ProteOn XPR36, Biacore 3000 or KinExA instrumentation, ELISA or competitive binding assays known to those skilled in the art. The measured affinity of a particular antibody/IFNω or IFNα subtypes interaction can vary if measured under different conditions (e.g., osmolarity, pH). Thus, measurements of affinity and other binding parameters (e.g., K_(D), K_(on), K_(off)) are preferably made with standardized conditions and a standardized buffer, such as the buffer described herein. Skilled in the art will appreciate that the internal error for affinity measurements for example using Biacore 3000 or ProteOn (measured as standard deviation, SD) can typically be within 5-33% for measurements within the typical limits of detection. Therefore the term “about” reflects the typical standard deviation in the assay. For example, the typical SD for a K_(D) of 1×10⁻⁹ M is up to ±0.33×10⁻⁹M.

The antibodies binding human IFNω and IFNα subtypes with a desired affinity and neutralization profile can be selected from libraries of variants or fragments by panning with human IFNω and IFNα subtypes and optinally by further antibody affinity maturation. In an exemplary panning campaign, phage libraries can be panned sequentially or using a mixture of chimpanzee IFNω, and human IFNα subtypes IFNα2, IFNα1, IFNαH2, IFNαG and IFNαF. Alternatively, antibodies of the invention can be made by immunizing mice with chimpanzee and cynomolgus IFNω, human IFNα subtypes IFNαD, IFNαJ1, IFNαC, IFNαB2, IFNαH2, IFNαA, IFNα4a, IFNαG, IFNαF, IFNαWA and IFNαI, and screening the hybriomas using standard methods.

Antibodies can be identified based on their inhibition of IFNω and IFNα biological activity using any suitable method and methods described herein.

One embodiment of the invention is an isolated monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes, wherein the antibody competes for binding to the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising:

a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or

a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28.

Competition between specific binding to human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with antibodies of the invention comprising certain VH and VL sequences can be assayed in vitro using well known methods. For example, binding of MSD Sulfo-Tag™ NHS-ester-labeled antibody to human to human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 in the presence of an unlabeled antibody can be assessed by ELISA, or Bioacore analyses or flow cytometry may be used to demonstrate competition with the antibodies of the current invention. Alternatively, real-time label-free competitive binding assays using Octet (ForteBio, Menlo Park, Calif.) can be used as described herein. The ability of a test antibody to inhibit the binding of the antibody comprising the VH of SEQ ID NO: 23 and the VL of SEQ ID NO: 24 or the VH of SEQ ID NO: 27 and the VL of SEQ ID NO: 28 to human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 demonstrates that the test antibody competes with these antibodies for binding to to human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds binds IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 19.

The residues F27, L30 and R33 in both IFNω and IFNα4a define a minimal epitope required for broad neutralizing acitivity of the IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention. Crystal structure of several antibody/IFNα or antibody/IFNω complexes revealed the three residues provide predominant contributions to antibody binding Human IFNα4a shares at least 83% identy with other human IFNαs and 59% identity with human IFNω. The F27 residue is conserved in all human IFNαs except IFNαD (α1). F27 is also conserved in human IFNω. Both L30 and R33 are conserved in all human IFNαs as well as in human IFNω.

In another embodiment of the invention, the monoclonal antibody of the invention that binds to and neutralizes activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes does not bind and does not neutralize IFNαD.

Antibodies of the invention binding specific IFNω and IFNα residues can be made by immunizing mice expressing human immunoglobulin loci (Lonberg et al., Nature 368:856-9, 1994; Fishwild et al., Nature Biotechnology 14:845-51, 1996; Mendez et al., Nature Genetics 15:146-56, 1997, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,429, 7,041,870, and 5,939,598) or Balb/c mice with the peptides comprising the epitope contact residues, for example a peptide having an amino acid sequence of an AB loop of IFNω (amino acid residues 22-34 of FNω of SEQ ID NO:1) or an AB loop of IFNα4a (amino acid residues 22-34 of IFNα4a of SEQ ID NO: 19), or a mixture of of IFNω and IFNα subtypes as described herein and using the hybridoma method of Kohler et al., Nature 256:495-97, 1975. The resulting antibodies are tested for their ability to compete with antibodies of the present invention, such as antibodies having the VH of SEQ ID NO: 23 and the VL of SEQ ID NO: 24 and tested for their binding to the epitope using standard methods. For example, when the structures of both individual components are known, in silico protein-protein docking can be carried out to identify compatible sites of interaction. Hydrogen-deuterium (H/D) exchange can be carried out with the antigen and antibody complex to map regions on the antigen that may be bound by the antibody. Segment and point mutagenesis of the antigen can be used to locate amino acids important for antibody binding. Co-crystal structure of antibody-antigen complex can be used to identify residues contributing to the epitope and paratope. The identified mAbs can further be modified by incorporating altered framework support residues to preserve binding affinity by techniques such as those disclosed in Queen et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) 86:10029-32, 1989 and Hodgson et al., Bio/Technology 9:421, 1991.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33, and further binds at least one IFNω residue selected from the group consisting of residues P26, K31 and R34 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33, and further binds at least one IFNω residue selected from the group consisting of residues R22, R23, I24, S25, P26, K31, D32, R34, D35, Q40, K134, M146, E147, M149, K150, F153 and L154 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNω of SEQ ID NO: 1 at one or more residues R22, P26, F27, L30, K31, D32, R33, R34, D35, Q40, K134, M146, E147, M149, K150, F153 and L154.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNω of SEQ ID NO: 1 at one or more residues R23, I24, S25, P26, F27, L30, K31, R33, R34, M146, E147, M149 and K150.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33, and further binds at least one IFNα4a residue selected from the group consisting of residues H26, K31 and R34 of SEQ ID NO: 19.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33, and further binds at least one IFNα4a residue selected from the group consistion of A19, H26, F27, L30, K31, D32, R33, H34, D35, V143, A146, E147, M149, R150 and S153 of SEQ ID NO: 19.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNα4a of SEQ ID NO: 19 at one or more residues A19, H26, F27, L30, K31, D32, R33, H34, D35, V143, A146, E147, M149, R150 and S153 of SEQ ID NO: 19.

In another embodiment, the antibody of the invention binds IFNα4a of SEQ ID NO: 19 at one or more residues G22, R23, I24, S25, H26, F27, C29, L30, K31, R33, H34 V143, A146, E147 and R150 and S153 of SEQ ID NO: 19.

In other embodiments, the antibodies of the invention inhibit activity of viral-induced leukocyte interferon.

In some embodiments, the activity of viral-induced leukocyte interferon is IP-10 release in whole blood induced by 100 U/ml of interferon.

Antibodies of the invention may neutralize interferon produced by activated leukocytes, as assessed by their ability to inhibit IP-10 release in whole blood induced by 100 U/ml interferon as described herein. Antibodies of the invention may neutralize effects of interferon produced by activated leukocytes by at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% in the presence of 50 μg/ml antibody.

In some embodiments, the antibodies of the invention inhibit IP-10 release in whole blood by more than 50% in the presence of 50 μg/ml antibody.

In another embodiment, the antibodies or the invention inhibit SLE immune complex-induced IFN production. SLE immune complex represent the type I IFN milieu present tin SLE. The IFN production can be measured using the reporter gene assay as described herein.

In some embodiments, antibodies of the invention may inhibit SLE immune complex-induced interferon production by at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100%.

The antibodies of the invention may be human, humanized or human-adapted

The antibodies of the invention may be of IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG or IgM type. The antibodies of the invention may be of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 type.

Another embodiment of the invention is an isolated antibody comprising:

a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24;

-   -   a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25 and a VL amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26; or     -   a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28.

Human mAbs lacking any non-human sequences can be prepared and optimized from phage display libraries by techniques referenced in, e.g., Knappik et al., J Mol Biol 296:57-86, 2000; and Krebs et al., J Immunol Meth 254:67-84 2001. In an exemplary method, the antibodies of the invention are isolated from libraries expressing antibody heavy and light chain variable regions as fusion proteins with bacteriophage pIX coat protein. The antibody libraries are screened for binding to human IFNω and IFNα and the obtained positive clones are further characterized, the Fabs isolated from the clone lysates, and expressed as full length IgGs. Exemplary antibody libraries and screening methods are described in Shi et al., J Mol Biol 397:385-96, 2010; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2009/085462, and U.S. Ser. No. 12/546,850; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,223,409, 5,969,108, and 5,885,793).

The resulting mAbs can further be modified in their framework regions to change certain framework residues to those present in a matching human germline.

Immune effector properties of the antibodies of the invention may be enhanced or silenced through Fc modifications by techniques known to those skilled in the art. For example, Fc effector functions such as C1q binding, complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), phagocytosis, down regulation of cell surface receptors (e.g., B cell receptor; BCR), etc. can be provided and/or controlled by modifying residues in the Fc responsible for these activities. Pharmacokinetic properties could also be enhanced by mutating residues in the Fc domain that extend antibody half-life (Strohl Curr Opin Biotechnol 20:685-91, 2009).

Additionally, antibodies of the invention can be post-translationally modified by processes such as glycosylation, isomerization, deglycosylation or non-naturally occurring covalent modification such as the addition of polyethylene glycol moieties (pegylation) and lipidation. Such modifications may occur in vivo or in vitro. For example, the antibodies of the invention can be conjugated to polyethylene glycol (PEGylated) to improve their pharmacokinetic profiles. Conjugation can be carried out by techniques known to those skilled in the art. Conjugation of therapeutic antibodies with PEG has been shown to enhance pharmacodynamics while not interfering with function (Knigh et al., Platelets 15:409-18, 2004; Leong et al., Cytokine 16:106-19, 2001; Yang et al., Protein Eng 16:761-70, 2003).

Antibodies or fragments thereof of the invention modified to improve stability, selectivity, cross-reactivity, affinity, immunogenicity or other desirable biological or biophysical property are within the scope of the invention. Stability of an antibody is influenced by a number of factors, including (1) core packing of individual domains that affects their intrinsic stability, (2) protein/protein interface interactions that have impact upon the HC and LC pairing, (3) burial of polar and charged residues, (4) H-bonding network for polar and charged residues; and (5) surface charge and polar residue distribution among other intra- and inter-molecular forces (Worn et al., J Mol Biol 305:989-1010, 2001). Potential structure destabilizing residues may be identified based upon the crystal structure of the antibody or by molecular modeling in certain cases, and the effect of the residues on antibody stability can be tested by generating and evaluating variants harboring mutations in the identified residues. One of the ways to increase antibody stability is to raise the thermal transition midpoint (Tm) as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In general, the protein Tm is correlated with its stability and inversely correlated with its susceptibility to unfolding and denaturation in solution and the degradation processes that depend on the tendency of the protein to unfold (Remmele et al., Biopharm 13:36-46, 2000). A number of studies have found correlation between the ranking of the physical stability of formulations measured as thermal stability by DSC and physical stability measured by other methods (Gupta et al., AAPS PharmSci 5E8, 2003; Zhang et al., J Pharm Sci 93:3076-89, 2004; Maa et al., Int J Pharm 140:155-68, 1996; Bedu-Addo et al., Pharm Res 21:1353-61, 2004; Remmele et al., Pharm Res 15:200-8, 1997). Formulation studies suggest that a Fab Tm has implication for long-term physical stability of a corresponding mAb. Differences in amino acids in either framework or within the CDRs could have significant effects on the thermal stability of the Fab domain (Yasui et al., FEBS Lett 353:143-6, 1994).

IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention can be engineered into bispecific antibodies which are also encompassed within the scope of the invention. The VL and/or the VH regions of the antibodies of the invention can be engineered using published methods into single chain bispecific antibodies as structures such as TandAb® designs (Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1999/57150; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2011/0206672) or into bispecific scFVs as structures such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,620; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1995/15388A, Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO1997/14719 or Int. Pat. Publ. No WO2011/036460.

The VL and/or the VH regions of the antibodies of the invention can be engineered into bispecific full-length antibodies, where each antibody arm binds a distinct antigen or epitope. Such bispecific antibodies are typically made by modulating the CH3 interactions between the two antibody heavy chains to form bispecific antibodies using technologies such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,695,936; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO04/111233; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2010/0015133; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2007/0287170; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2008/119353; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2009/0182127; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2010/0286374; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2011/0123532; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2011/131746; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2011/143545; or U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2012/0149876. Additional bispecific structures into which the VL and/or the VH regions of the antibodies of the invention can be incorporated are for example Dual Variable Domain Immunoglobulins (Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2009/134776), or structures that include various dimerization domains to connect the two antibody arms with different specificity, such as leucine zipper or collagen dimerization domains (Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2012/022811, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,932,448; 6,833,441).

Another aspect of the invention is an isolated polynucleotide encoding any of the antibody heavy chain variable regions or the antibody light chain variable regions or fragments thereof of the invention or their complement. Given the degeneracy of the genetic code or codon preferences in a given expression system, polynucleotides encoding the antibody antagonists of the invention are also within the scope of the invention.

Another embodiment of the invention is a vector comprising the polynucleotide of the invention. Such vectors may be plasmid vectors, viral vectors, vectors for baculovirus expression, transposon based vectors or any other vector suitable for introduction of the polynucleotides of the invention into a given organism or genetic background by any means.

Another embodiment of the invention is a host cell comprising the polynucleotide of the invention. Such host cells may be eukaryotic cells, bacterial cells, plant cells or archeal cells. Exemplary eukaryotic cells may be of mammalian, insect, avian or other animal origins. Mammalian eukaryotic cells include immortalized cell lines such as hybridomas or myeloma cell lines such as SP2/0 (American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, Va., CRL-1581), NS0 (European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECACC), Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK, ECACC No. 85110503), FO (ATCC CRL-1646) and Ag653 (ATCC CRL-1580) murine cell lines. An exemplary human myeloma cell line is U266 (ATTC CRL-TIB-196). Other useful cell lines include those derived from Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells such as CHO-K1SV (Lonza Biologics, Walkersville, Md.), CHO-K1 (ATCC CRL-61) or DG44.

Another embodiment of the invention is a method of producing an antibody of the invention comprising culturing a host cell of the invention and recovering the antibody produced by the host cell. Methods of making antibodies and purifying them are well known in the art.

Another embodiment of the invention is a method of inhibiting interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR in a patient need thereof, comprising administering an isolated antibody that competes for binding to the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising: a heavy chain variable region (VH) of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable regin (VL) of SEQ ID NO: 24; or a VH of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL of SEQ ID NO: 28 to a patient for a time sufficient to prevent the interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR. Competition between an antibody and IFNAR can be assayed using standard methods and those described herein using for example extracellular protions of IFNAR1 (SEQ ID NO: 31) and IFNAR2 (SEQ ID NO: 32) or their Fc fusion proteins.

Methods of Treatment

IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention may be utilized to treat or prevent any disease that is associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω. In the methods of the invention, any IFNα/ω antibody of the invention may be used. Alternatively, any antibody competing for binding to the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising: a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable regin (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28 may be used. Further, any antibody that binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 1 and IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 19 may be used.

The methods of the invention may be used to treat an animal patient belonging to any classification. Examples of such animals include mammals such as humans, rodents, dogs, cats and farm animals. For example, the antibodies of the invention are useful in the prophylaxis and treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type I diabetes, psoriasis, primary Sjögren's disease, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; including Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Celiac's Disease), immune-mediated inflammatory thyroiditis, and glomerulonephritis. Furthermore, the antibody compositions of the invention can be used for inhibiting or preventing transplant rejection or in the treatment of graft versus host disease (GVHD).

The antibodies of the invention are also useful in the preparation of a medicament for such treatment, wherein the medicament is prepared for administration in dosages defined herein.

Not wishing to be bound by any particular theory, it is suggested that SLE triggers, such as immune complexes, invoke type I IFN responses including IFNα and IFNω, but not IFNβ. Therefore, IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention may provide a more efficacious SLE treatment broadly inhibiting these pathogenic Type I IFNs, while sparing IFNβ function, which may play a more critical role in antiviral defense. In the present invention, broady neutralizing IFNα/ω antibodies have been generated and a unique neutralizing epitope present on IFNα and IFNω identified, albeit the challenges given the suggestion that IFNα and IFNω are antigenically unique (Adolf, J Gen Virol 68:1669-1676, 1987.

A relationship between IFNα and SLE was first described in 1979 when this cytokine was demonstrated to be elevated in the serum of SLE patients (Hooks et al., N Engl J Med 301:5-8, 1979; Preble et al., Science 216:429-431, 1982). More recently, a type I IFN gene signature has been extensively described in a subset of SLE patients and the extent of IFN signature expression has been reported to positively correlate with both clinical and serological features of disease (Karageorgas et al., J Biomed Biotechnol 273907, 2011; Baechler et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:2610-2615, 2003; Bennett et al., J Exp Med 197:711-723, 2003; Dall′era et al., Ann Rheum Dis 64: 1692-1697, 2005; Niewold et al., Genes Immun 8: 492-502, 2007). Several genetic association studies have indicated a potential role for the type I IFN pathway in mediating disease in some lupus patients (Delgado-Vega et al., Arthritis Res Ther 12 Suppl 1 S2; Elkon and Stone; J Interferon Cytokine Res 11:803-812, 2011). Further studies have revealed that IFNα modulates the expression of a suite of gene products involved with pathogenic mechanisms in SLE. For example, IFNα can induce the expression of BLyS an important B cell survival factor and also the target of Benlysta® (belimumab). A positive correlation exists with type I IFN activity and levels of soluble BLyS in SLE patients (Ritterhouse et al., Arthritis Rheum 63:3931-3941, 2011), and blockade of IFNα in SLE patients resulted in a decrease in the gene expression of BLyS in skin lesional biopsies of a small number of SLE patients where tissue was collected (Yao et al., Arthritis Rheum 60:1785-1796, 2009). In concert with IL-6, IFNα was also shown to be important for the generation of Ig-secreting plasma cells (Jego et al., Curr Dir autoimmune 8:124-139, 2005). Outside of direct effects on the B-cell compartment, IFNα exhibits effects on other important mediators of lupus pathogenesis. Blanco et al. demonstrated that IFNα can induce the differentiation of monocytes to antigen-presenting DCs (Blanco et al., Science 294:1540-1543, 2001). Neutralization of IFNα present in SLE serum samples significantly reduced the capacity of SLE serum to induce monocyte to DC differentiation demonstrating a prominent role of this cytokine in decreasing tolerance to self antigens in some SLE patients. IFNα therapy for infectious or oncologic indications has been shown to induce SLE-like disease in some patients, which subsides after therapy is discontinued (Burdick et al., Expert Opin Drug Saf 8:459-472, 2009; Biggioggero et al., Autoimmunity 43:248-254, 2010).

IFN is rapidly produced in response to infectious agents such as viruses to help control infection. Autoantibodies bound to nucleic acid ligands are thought to be the predominant inducers of type I IFN in SLE. A preponderance of autoantibodies in conjunction with an impaired clearance of autoantigens leads to a feedback cycle of IFN production where Fc receptor-dependent internalization of immune complexes into plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) leads to increased amounts of IFN and thus establishment of the IFN signature. Nucleic acid receptors such as toll-like receptors (TLR) 7 and TLR9 are enriched in the endosomal compartment of pDCs and considered to be predominant sentinels of these nucleic acid-containing immune complexes initiating a cascade leading to type I IFN release. To that end, multiple inhibitors of TLRs 7 and 9 are in clinical development for SLE.

Both IFNα and IFNω are elevated in SLE and may induce similar immunomodulatory effects. Agonism of TLR7 and TLR9 using synthetic ligands (Gibson et al., Cell Immunol 218:74-86, 2002) or SLE patient-derived immune complexes (as described herein) induced both IFNα and IFNω protein IFNω transcripts (Han et al., Genes Immun 4:177-186, 2003) and protein (data not shown) are upregulated in SLE patients.

Autoantibodies against type I IFN are also found in SLE patients, possibly as a result of elevated IFN in these patients coupled with an over exuberant humoral immune response. Autoantibodies against IFNω have been found to be more prevalent than those against IFNα in the SLE cohorts examined while only trace amounts of autoantibodies against IFNβ were detected (Slavikova et al., J Interferon Cytokine Res 23:143-147, 2003). General activities conferred by IFNω resemble IFNα effects suggesting that elevated IFNω in SLE patients may contribute to disease pathogenesis (Adolf et al., J Biol Chem 265:9290-9295, 1990; Adolf, Mult Scler 1 Suppl 1:S44-47, 1995; Kubes et al., J Interferon Res 14:57-59, 1994; Tiefenthaler et al., J Interferon Cytokine Res 17:327-329, 1997). The presence and role of IFNβ in SLE is less certain. Specific neutralization of IFNα using SLE patient sera as stimuli resulted in a substantial reduction of type I IFN activity while IFNβ neutralization conferred negligible effects using the patient sera samples tested, suggesting minimal involvement of IFNβ to disease pathogenesis (Hua et al., Arthritis Rheum 54:1906-1916, 2006).

Current type I IFN antagonist approaches in clinical development are focused on neturalizing a spectrum of IFNα subtypes and not other type I IFNs (β, ε, κ, ω), on neutralizing the IFNAR1 chain of the interferon receptor thus blocking signal transduction of all type I IFN, or utilizing vaccination approaches specific to IFNα (Merrill et al., Ann Rheum Dis 70:1905-1913, 2011; Zagury et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106:5294-5299, 2009). In clinical trials, anti-IFNα antibodies in SLE patients demonstrated partial reduction of the type I IFN signature in patients exhibiting the IFN signature and slight efficacy in exploratory analysis (Merrill et al., Ann Rheum Dis 70:1905-1913, 2011). In Phase 2 studies, anti-INFα treatment in the absence of immunosuppressants was associated with improvement in signs and symptoms of SLE, flare rates, and steroid burden at week 24 in a pre-specified biomarker defined group of Interferon Signature Metric (ISM)-Low moderate to severely active lupus subjects. Interestingly, no efficacy was seen in patients pre-defined as ISM-High (Kalunian et al., 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting; Abstract #2622, 2012).

A monoclonal antibody against IFNAR1 would be predicted to abolish IFN signaling induced by all type I IFNs, including IFNβ. Despite a lack of data to support a significant role of IFNβ in SLE pathogenesis, IFNβ may play a more critical role in antiviral defense. Specific deletion of the gene encoding IFNβ incurs substantial susceptibility to a host of viruses when compared to similarly exposed mice having functional IFNβ (Lazear et al., J Virol 85:7186-94; Deonarain et al., J Virol 74:3403-09, 2000; Deonarain et al., Circulation 110:3540-3543, 2004; Gerlach et al., J Virol 80:3438-3444, 2006; Koerner et al., J Virol 81:2025-2030, 2007).

One embodiment of the invention is a method of treating or preventing a disease associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of an isolated antibody that binds to and neutralizes activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes, or an antibody that competes for binding to the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising: a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable regin (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28 to a patient in need thereof for a time sufficient to treat or prevent the disease.

Another embodiment of the invention is a method of preventing interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR in a patient need thereof, comprising administering an isolated antibody that binds to and neutralizes activity of human interferon omega (IFNω) and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes, or an antibody that competes for binding to the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising: a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable regin (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28 to a patient for a time sufficient to prevent the interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR.

In other embodiments, the antibody that may be used in the methods of the invention comprises an antibody that binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 1 and IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 19.

The antibodies of the invention may be tested for their efficacy in animal models of lupus, which include strains of lupus-prone mice and mice in which lupus-like phenotypes are induced or accelerated using various agents (Perry, et al., J Biomed Biotechnol, 2011:271694, 2011. For example, NZB/NZW F1 mice exhibit a time-dependent and female-biased disease having several features of human lupus including glomerulonephritis. As multiple and distinct IFNα subtypes are produced in the mouse when compared to human (van Pesch, et al., J Virol, 78:8219-28, 2004) and lack of IFNω expression in mouse, in vitro testing in disease relevant cells using disease relevant IFN preparations may be used to assess the efficacy and disease modifying potential of the antibodies of the invention. Such in vitro assays are for example evaluation of inhibition of IFN production induced by SLE Immune Complex in whole blood, or assessment of ability of the antibodies to reduce the IFN signature as described herein.

The VH and the VL domains of the IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention of may be incorporated into bispecific antibodies and molecules described herein, in which the bispecific antibody specifically binds and neutralizes IFNω and and at least four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα) subtypes, for example IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and IFNαJ1, and a second antigen such as BLyS, CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2 (CLEC4C, C-type lectin domain family 4, member C), or p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23. Alternatively, the VH and the VL domains of any antibody competing for binding to the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody comprising: a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable regin (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or a VH amino acid sequence of of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid sequence of of SEQ ID NO: 28 may be used. Further, the VH and the VL domains of any antibody that binds IFNω at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 1 and IFNα4a at one or more residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO: 19 may be used.

BLyS, CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2 (CLEC4C, C-type lectin domain family 4, member C), or p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23 binding antibodies can be generated using methods described herein, such as immunizing mice expressing human immunoglobulin loci (Lonberg et al., Nature 368:856-9, 1994; Fishwild et al., Nature Biotechnology 14:845-51, 1996; Mendez et al., Nature Genetics 15:146-56, 1997, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,429, 7,041,870, and 5,939,598) or Balb/c mice with the corresponding proteins or extracellular domains of the proteins, or using phage display libraries as described herein. Alternatively, existing antibodies to BLyS, CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2 (CLEC4C, C-type lectin domain family 4, member C) or p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23 can be used to generate the bispecific molecules.

Administration/Pharmaceutical Compositions

The “therapeutically effective amount” of the IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention effective in the treatment of conditions associated with increased production of IFNα and IFNω can be determined by standard research techniques. For example, the dosage of the IFNα/ω antibodies of the invention that will be effective in the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as SLE can be determined by administering the IFNα/ω antibodies to relevant animal models well known in the art.

In vitro assays can optionally be employed to help identify optimal dosage ranges. Selection of a particular effective dose can be determined (e.g., via clinical trials) by those skilled in the art based upon the consideration of several factors. Such factors include the disease to be treated or prevented, the symptoms involved, the patient's body mass, the patient's immune status and other factors known by the skilled artisan. The precise dose to be employed in the formulation will also depend on the route of administration, and the severity of disease, and should be decided according to the judgment of the practitioner and each patient's circumstances. Effective doses can be extrapolated from dose-response curves derived from in vitro or animal model test systems. The antibodies of the invention may be tested for their efficacy and effective dosage using any of the models described herein.

The mode of administration for therapeutic use of the antibody of the invention may be any suitable route that delivers the agent to the host. Pharmaceutical compositions of these antibodies are particularly useful for parenteral administration, e.g., intradermal, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intravenous, subcutaneous, or intranasal.

The antibody of the invention may be prepared as pharmaceutical compositions containing an effective amount of the agent as an active ingredient in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The term “carrier” refers to a diluent, adjuvant, excipient, or vehicle with which the active compound is administered. Such pharmaceutical vehicles can be liquids, such as water and oils, including those of petroleum, animal, vegetable or synthetic origin, such as peanut oil, soybean oil, mineral oil, sesame oil and the like. For example, 0.4% saline and 0.3% glycine can be used. These solutions are sterile and generally free of particulate matter. They may be sterilized by conventional, well-known sterilization techniques (e.g., filtration). The compositions may contain pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary substances as required to approximate physiological conditions such as pH adjusting and buffering agents, stabilizing, thickening, lubricating and coloring agents, etc. The concentration of the antibody of the invention in such pharmaceutical formulation can vary widely, i.e., from less than about 0.5%, usually at or at least about 1% to as much as 15 or 20% by weight and will be selected primarily based on required dose, fluid volumes, viscosities, etc., according to the particular mode of administration selected.

Thus, a pharmaceutical composition of the invention for intramuscular injection could be prepared to contain 1 ml sterile buffered water, and between about 1 ng to about 100 mg, e.g. about 50 ng to about 30 mg or more preferably, about 5 mg to about 25 mg, of an antibody of the invention. Similarly, a pharmaceutical composition of the invention for intravenous infusion could be made up to contain about 250 ml of sterile Ringer's solution, and about 1 mg to about 30 mg and preferably 5 mg to about 25 mg of an antagonist of the invention. Actual methods for preparing parenterally administrable compositions are well known and are described in more detail in, for example, “Remington's Pharmaceutical Science”, 15th ed., Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa.

The antibodies of the invention can be lyophilized for storage and reconstituted in a suitable carrier prior to use. This technique has been shown to be effective with conventional immunoglobulins and protein preparations and art-known lyophilization and reconstitution techniques can be employed.

Further Embodiments of the Invention

Set out below are certain further numbered embodiments of the invention according to the disclosures elsewhere herein. Features from embodiments of the invention set out above also relate to each and every one of these further numbered embodiments.

-   1) An isolated monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes an     activity of (a) human interferon omega (IFNω) and (b) at least four,     five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten human interferon alpha (IFNα)     subtypes. -   2) The antibody according to embodiment 1, wherein the antibody     binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα subtypes     IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and IFNαJ1. -   3) The antibody according to embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the antibody     binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα subtypes     IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG and IFNαJ1. -   4) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the     antibody binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα     subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1 and IFNαA. -   5) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-4, wherein the     antibody binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα     subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA and IFNαH2. -   6) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-5, wherein the     antibody binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα     subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA, IFNαH2 and     IFNαK. -   7) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-6, wherein the     antibody binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα     subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA, IFNαH2, IFNαK     and IFNαWA. -   8) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-7, wherein the     antibody binds to and neutralizes an activity of the human IFNα     subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαJ1, IFNαA IFNαH2, IFNαK,     IFNαWA and IFNα4a. -   9) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-8, wherein the     activity of the human IFNω and the human IFNα subtypes is inhibition     of secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) expression under     the interferon inducible ISG54 promoter in HEK293 cells stably     expressing signal transducer and activator of transcription 2     (STAT2), interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) and SEAP. -   10) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-9, wherein     the antibody inhibits the activity of the human IFNω with an IC₅₀     value of about 5×10⁻⁸M or less, about 1×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹     M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less or about     1×10⁻¹² M or less, and inhibits the activity of the human IFNα     subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or IFNαJ1 with an IC₅₀ value of about     5×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁸ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less,     about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less or about 1×10⁻¹² M     or less under conditions defined in Example 3 under section     “affinity measurements”. -   11) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-10, wherein     the antibody binds the human IFNω with a dissociation constant     (K_(D)) of about 5×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or less, about     5×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹¹ M or less,     about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹² M or less or about 5×10⁻¹² M     or less and binds the human IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG or     IFNαJ1 with a K_(D) of about 5×10⁻⁹ M or less, about 1×10⁻⁹ M or     less, about 5×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹⁰ M or less, about     5×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 1×10⁻¹¹ M or less, about 5×10⁻¹² M or less     or about 5×10⁻¹² M or less, wherein the K_(D) is measured using     conditions exemplified in Example 3 under section “affinity     measurements.” -   12) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-11, wherein     the antibody competes for binding to the human IFNω and the human     IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated     antibody comprising:     -   a) a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ         ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or     -   b) a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. -   13) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-12, wherein     the antibody binds IFNω at one or more of residues F27, L30 and R33     of SEQ ID NO: 1. -   14) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-13, wherein     the antibody binds IFNω at residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO:     1. -   15) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-14, wherein     the antibody further binds at least one IFNω residue selected from     the group consisting of residues P26, K31 and R34 of SEQ ID NO: 1. -   16) The antibody according to embodiment 14 or 15, wherein the     antibody further binds at least one IFNω residue selected from the     group consisting of residues R22, R23, I24, S25, P26, K31, D32, R34,     D35, Q40, K134, M146, E147, M149, K150, F153 and L154 of SEQ ID NO:     1. -   17) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-16, wherein     the antibody binds IFNα4a at one or more of residues F27, L30 and     R33 of SEQ ID NO: 19. -   18) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-17, wherein     the antibody binds IFNα4a at residues F27, L30 and R33 of SEQ ID NO:     19. -   19) The antibody according to embodiment 17 or 18, wherein the     antibody further binds at least one IFNα4a residue selected from the     group consisting of residues H26, K31 and R34 of SEQ ID NO: 19. -   20) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 17-19, wherein     the antibody further binds at least one IFNα4a residue selected from     the group consisting of A19, G22, R23, I24, S25, H26, C29, K31, D32,     H34, D35, V143, A146, E147, M149, R150 and S153 of SEQ ID NO: 19. -   21) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-20, wherein     the antibody inhibits activity of viral-induced leukocyte     interferon. -   22) The antibody according to embodiment 21, wherein the activity of     viral-induced leukocyte interferon is IP-10 release in whole blood     induced by 100 U/ml of interferon. -   23) The antibody according to embodiment 22, wherein the activity is     inhibited by more than 50% in the presence of 50 μg/ml antibody. -   24) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-23, wherein     the antibody inhibits activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)     immune complex-induced IFN. -   25) The antibody according to embodiment 24, wherein the activity is     inhibited by more than about 50%. -   26) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-25,     comprising:     -   a) a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ         ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or     -   b) a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ         ID NO: 27 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. -   27) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-26, wherein     the antibody does not bind or neutralize human interferon-β (IFNβ). -   28) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-27, wherein     the antibody does not bind or neutralize human IFNαD. -   29) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-28, wherein     the antibody is human, humanized or human-adapted. -   30) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-29, wherein     the antibody is of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4 isotype. -   31) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-30, wherein     the antibody is bispecific. -   32) The antibody according to embodiment 31, wherein the antibody     binds BLyS, CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2 or the p40 subunit of IL-12 or     IL-23. -   33) A pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody according     to any one of embodiments 1-32 and a pharmaceutically accepted     carrier. -   34) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-32 or the     pharmaceutical composition according to embodiment 33 for use in the     treatment or prevention of a disease associated with increased     production of IFNα and/or IFNω. -   35) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-32 or the     pharmaceutical composition according to embodiment 33 for use     according to embodiment 34, wherein the disease associated with     increased production of IFNα and/or IFNω is an immune-mediated     inflammatory disease, optionally wherein the immune-mediated     inflammatory disease is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type I     diabetes, psoriasis, primary Sjögren's disease, systemic sclerosis     or rheumatoid arthritis. -   36) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-32 or the     pharmaceutical composition according to embodiment 33 for use     according to embodiment 34 or 35, wherein the patient exhibits a     Type I interferon signature. -   37) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-32 or the     pharmaceutical composition according to embodiment 33 for use     according to embodiment 34-36, wherein the antibody is a bispecific     antibody, optionally wherein the bispecific antibody binds BLyS,     CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2 or the p40 subunit of IL-12 or IL-23. -   38) The antibody according to any one of embodiments 1-32 or 37 or     the pharmaceutical composition according to embodiment 33 for use in     inhibiting interaction of IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαC,     IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with IFNAR in a patient. -   39) The antibody or the pharmaceutical composition for use according     to embodiment 38, wherein the patient has an immune-mediated     inflammatory disease, optionally wherein the immune-mediated     inflammatory disease is SLE, type I diabetes, psoriasis, primary     Sjögren's disease, systemic sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis. -   40) The antibody or the pharmaceutical composition for use according     to embodiment 38 or 39, wherein the patient exhibits a Type I     interferon signature. -   41) The antibody or the pharmaceutical composition for use according     to any one of embodiment 38-40, wherein the antibody is a bispecific     antibody, optionally wherein the bispecific antibody binds BLyS,     CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2, p40 subunit of IL-12 or IL-23, or BDCA2.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the following specific, non-limiting examples.

Example 1 Generation of Human Type I IFN Antigens Used for Immunization, Phage Panning, Antibody Characterization, and Crystallography Studies

Twelve individual recombinant human type I IFN alphas, including Alpha A (alpha 2a) (SEQ ID NO: 5), Alpha B2 (alpha 8) (SEQ ID NO: 6), Alpha C (alpha 10) (SEQ ID NO: 7), Alpha D (alpha 1) (SEQ ID NO: 8), Alpha F (alpha 21) (SEQ ID NO: 9), Alpha G (alpha 5) (SEQ ID NO: 10), Alpha H2 (alpha 14) (SEQ ID NO: 11), Alpha I (alpha 17) (SEQ ID NO: 12), Alpha J1 (alpha 7) (SEQ ID NO: 13), Alpha K (alpha 6) (SEQ ID NO: 14), Alpha 4b (alpha 4) (SEQ ID NO: 15), Alpha WA (alpha 16) (SEQ ID NO: 16) and chimpanzee IFN omega (chimp IFNω) (SEQ ID NO: 3) were expressed in HEK 293 cells using standard methods using signal sequences, such as SEQ ID NOs: 17-21. To improve expression level and solubility, a single amino acid mutant at position 80 of human IFN omega IFN-omega (T80E) was generated and expressed in HEK 293 cells. The T80E IFNω variant (SEQ ID NO: 2) had comparable activity to the wild type protein.

Example 2. Generation of IFNα and IFNω Binding and Neutralizing Antibodies Mouse Immunizations Generation of C2595

BALB/c mice were immunized intraperitoneally multi times with mixture of human IFN-alphas, chimpanzee IFN-omega and cynomolgus IFN-omega. On day 0, mice were immunized with chimpanzee IFN-omega. On day 14, the same mice were immunized with mixture of chimpanzee and cynomolgus IFNomega, human IFNαD, IFNαJ1, IFNαC, IFNαB2, IFNαH2, IFNαA, IFNα4a, IFNαG, IFNαF, IFNαWA and IFNαI. On day 208, the same mice were immunized with mixture of cynomolgus IFN-omega, human IFNα4b, IFNαA, IFNαD, and IFNαK. On day 221, the same mice were immunized with mixture of cynomolgus IFN-omega, human IFNαJ, IFNαI, IFNα4a, IFNαA and IFNαF. Specific IgG titers were assessed after immunizetion. Once sufficient titers were obtained, splenocytes were isolated and fused with FO cells. The resulting hybridomas were plated in 96 well plates and cultured for 10 days. Antigen specific clones were first identified by primary screen for binding of chimpanzee IFN-omega and binding of mixture of human IFNαA, IFNαH2, IFNαD, and IFNα4a with ELISA. Hybridomas binding to IFN-alpha and/or IFN-omega were further screened by Luminex multiplex assay. Clones binding broadly to most of IFN alphas and human and cyno IFN omega were selected for further studies.

Phage Display Libraries

Human type I IFN binding Fabs were selected from de novo pIX phage display libraries described in Shi et al., J. Mol. Biol. 397:385-396, 2010; Int. Pat. Publ. No. WO2009/085462; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. U52010/0021477; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. US2012/0108795.

Selection of IFWM43

The pIX phage display libraries were panned against purified type I IFN alpha A (IFNα2) generated from the expression of human wild-type IFN-alpha A sequence a C-terminal poly-histidine tag and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Three round panning was used. The 100 nM, 10 nM and 1 nM of biotinylated antigen were used for first, second and third round panning respectively. The monoclonal Fabs derived from phagemid clones harvested after three round panning were primary screened for their binding chimp IFN omega, human IFNα2, IFNα1, IFNαH2, IFNαG, IFNα F and avidin with a standard ELISA. The Fab fragments (Fabs) that bound specifically to IFN alphas and IFN-omega in ELISA were sequenced and identified as unique IFN binders if they have different Vregion sequences. The Fabs were converted to human IgG₁ mAb and identified as IFN binders after further tested their neutralizing activity in a range of cell-based assays relevant to identifying anti-inflammatory activity.

Identification of IFWM88

The pIX phage display libraries were panned against purified type I IFN alpha G (a5) generated from the expression of human wild-type IFN-alpha A sequence a C-terminal poly-histidine tag and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Three round panning was used. The 100 nM, 10 nM and 1 nM of biotinylated antigen were used for first, second and third round panning respectively. The monoclonal Fabs derived from phagemid clones harvested after three round panning were primary screened for their binding chimp IFN omega, human IFNα2, IFNα1, IFNαH2, IFNαG, IFNαF and avidin with a standard ELISA. The Fab fragments (Fabs) that bound specifically to IFN alphas and IFN-omega in ELISA were sequenced and identified as unique IFN binders if they have different V region sequences. The Fabs were converted to human IgG₁ mAbs and identified as IFN binders after further testing their neutralizing activity in a range of cell-based assays relevant to identifying anti-inflammatory activity.

Amino acid sequences of variable regions of generated antibodies are as follows: IFWM43 VH: SEQ ID NO: 23; IFWM43 VL: SEQ ID NO: 24; and IFWM88 VH: SEQ ID NO: 25; IFWM88 VL: SEQ ID NO: 26; C2595 VH: SEQ ID NO: 27, C2494 VL: SEQ ID NO: 28. C2595 variable regions were transferred to human IgG₁ constant region and the resulting antibody was named M3239. IFWM43 is also referred to as M43 and IFWM88 is referred to as M88.

Example 3. Characterization of IFN-α and IFN-ω Binding and Neutralizing Antibodies Methods Affinity Measurements

Binding affinities of the antibodies were performed using SPR technology with ProteOn (Bio-Rad Hercules, Calif.). Goat anti-human Fc antibodies (manufacture) were amine-coupled to GLC chips (Bio-Rad Hercules, Calif.) using standard NHS/EDC chemistry as manufacture recommended. The anti-IFN mAbs were then loaded on the antibody coupled chip for 2 minutes at the flow rate of 30 μl/min. After washing with running buffer (composition of the buffer) for 2 minutes at the flow rate of 50 μl/ml, recombinant IFN antigens at 5 different concentrations ranging from 100 nM to 1.23 nM with 1:3 dilution were allowed to associate for 3 minutes and dissociate for 10 minutes, both at the flow rate of 50 μl/ml. The chips were generated with 100 mM phosphoric acid in each direction between running different antigens. Data analysis was performed using ProteOn manager (Bio-Rad Hercules, Calif.). The sensorgrams were grouped by mAbs. After applying alignment and reference correction (using either interspot or blank channel referencing), the SPR data were fit globally to Langmuir model for kinetic rate constants (K_(D)=k_(off)/k_(on), where K_(D)=equilibrium dissociation constant, k_(on)=association rate constant, and k_(off)=dissociation rate constant).

ISRE Reporter Gene Assay (“ISRE Reporter Gene Assay”)

HEK-Blue™ IFN-α/β cells (InvivoGen, San Diego, Calif.) engineered to express a fully active type I IFN signaling pathway (stably expressing STAT2 and IRF9) and transfected with a SEAP reporter gene under the control of the IFN-α/β inducible ISG54 promoter was used. The cells were grown in collagen type I coated T150 flasks in Dulbecco's modified eagle media with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 ug/ml blasticidin and 30 ug/ml zeocin at 37° C., 5% CO₂. Cells were harvested and plated in 384-well plates at 500 per well at 50,000 cells per ml. Plated cells were incubated at 37° C., 5% CO₂ for 24 hr. Tested interferon samples were prepared and diluted in spent HEK ISRE serum free medium, and 50 μl of IFN sample was added to each well. Plated cells were incubated at 37° C., 5% CO₂ for 20 hr. Alkaline phosphatase was detected from 20 μl of plated cell supernatants with 60 μl/well QUANTI-Blue™ resuspended in filtered water after incubation for 20 min at room temperature. Optical density was read on a Biotek Synergy plate reader at 650 nm.

Some ISRE reporter gene assays were done in 96-well plates as follows: HEK-Blue™ IFN-α/β cells (InvivoGen, San Diego, Calif.) were plated at 50,000 cells per well in 1000 of selection free media (DMEM+Glutamax/10% FBS, Gibco) and allowed to incubate overnight at 37° C. The next day, type I IFN stimuli were prepared (i.e. recombinant interferon, leukocyte IFN, IC induced IFN preps, serum, etc) with or without type I IFN inhibitors in a separate 96 well U-bottom transfer plate (BD Falcon) and prewarmed at 37° C. for 10 minutes. A plate of cells was removed from incubator and media was removed and replaced with 100 μl of appropriate treatments prepared in 96 well U-bottom transfer plate. Cells were placed back at 37° C. for 24 hours. The next day, 40 μl of supernatant was transferred to a 96 well flat bottom plate (BD Falcon) containing 160 μl of QUANTI-Blue™ SEAP substrate (Invivogen). Plate was allowed to develop for about 15 minutes at which time it was read using a spectrometer at an absorbancy of 650 nm.

IP-10 Release Assay:

Heparinized whole blood from healthy volunteers was plated in a 96 well U-bottom plate containing several different type I IFN inhibitors along with isotype controls. Inhibitors and appropriate isotype control were diluted in RPMI medium with 10% FBS. IFNs and inhibitors or isotype controls were diluted in a volume of 300 of RPMI Medium containing 10% FBS. After pre-incubating the samples for 15-20 minutes 240 μl of heparinized whole blood was added to plates containing the dilutions to make a final volume of 270 μl. Samples were mixed and allowed to incubate at 37° C. for 20-22 hours. After incubations, samples were spun at 400×g for 5 minutes and plasma was collected and frozen for later analysis. IP-10 profiling was done by Milliplex cytokine/chemokine kit (Millipore, Premixed 39 plex. Sample preparation and assay were performed according to the manufacturer's recommendation using BioRad model (Bioplex™ 200) system and Bioplex Manager™ software 4.1 to acquire the data. Statistical analysis was done by Graph pad Prism V.5 software. In some cases, IP-10 was quantified using Single analyte ELISA kit from Qiagen.

SLE Whole Blood Gene Signature Assay:

SLE donor whole blood was obtained commercially through Asterand. Whole blood gene expression analysis was performed using a custom TaqMan low density array card containing primers and probes enriched for IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs). Genes included on the array were as follows: ACTB, IL6, IL10, IL13, FAS, IL15, IL21, IL17A, EIF2AK2, OASL, 18S, STAT1, LY6E, PLSCR1, MX1, IFIT1, IFI44, IFI44L, IFI27, ISG15, RSAD2, CXCL10, LAG3, and TNFSF10. RT-PCR amplification was performed on an ABI Prism 7900 HT Sequence Detection system (Applied Biosystems, CA, USA) as per manufacturer's instructions. Relative expression values were calculated using the comparative threshold cycle (C_(t)) method. Briefly, this technique uses the formula 2^(−ΔΔC)t to calculate the expression of target genes normalized to a calibrator group (Normal healthy untreated whole blood). Beta Actin (ACTB) was selected as the endogenous control. The threshold cycle (C_(t)) indicates the cycle number by which the amount of amplified target reaches a fixed threshold. The C_(t) data for all interferon-induced target genes and ACTB were used to create ΔC_(t) values [ΔC_(t)=C_(t) (target gene)−C_(t) (ACTB)]. ΔΔC_(t) values were calculated by subtracting the average of the control group (5 normal healthy untreated whole blood donors) from the ΔC_(t) value of each target. Relative expression values were calculated using the equation 2^(−ΔΔC). The 3 SLE donors in this experiment had a minimum of 2 fold higher gene expression over the control group for 9 of the ISGs on the low density array. To compare the effects of the type I IFN inhibitors across all 3 donors, % inhibition was first determined using the following formula for every treatment/inhibitor: (2^(−ΔΔC)t SLE blood untreated−2^(−ΔΔC)t inhibitor/2^(−ΔΔC)t SLE blood untreated)×100=% inhibition. Next, % baseline for each treatment across all three donors was calculated by the following equation: 100−% inhibition=% baseline.

The mean % baseline of all 3 donors grouped by treatment groups was then determined for each of the 9 genes. The untreated SLE group (“SLE blood alone”) was set to 100 to denote that this group is 100% from the baseline. Baseline denotes that there is 0% IFN-induced gene expression. Finally, the mean and standard deviation of each treatment group across all 9 genes was determined and plotted. Statistical significance was determined by performing the Student's T-test.

SLE Immune Complex Preparation:

SLE patient plasma was obtained from SCIPAC (Kent, UK). Plasma samples having type I IFN activity as determined by an ISRE-based reporter gene assay were further utilized for IgG purification. IgG was purified using NAB™ Protein A/G Spin column as recommended by the manufacturer (Thermo SCIENTIFIC) and protein assay was run to determine concentration (Pierce BCA). Autoantigen lysates were prepared using HEK293T cells suspended at 5×10⁷ cells/ml in 1× phosphate buffered saline (PBS). To disrupt Hek293T cells, freeze-thawing was performed for 4 cycles of at least 10 minutes freezing at −80° C. and thawing at 37° C., except for an initial freezing of at least 30 minutes; after the freeze-thaw, cellular debris was removed by centrifugation (400 g for 5 minutes) and soluble antigen amount was quantitated by protein assay. At a 1:1 ratio, purified IgG and necrotic cell lysate was incubated together for 30 minutes at RT to form immune complexes. A final concentration of 400 μg/ml of immune complex was then added to 3 wells of a 6 well plate in a total volume of 4 ml PBMC media per well. Healthy donor IgG was purified and “complexed” in the same manner just described and used to stimulate PBMCs to serve as a control. Conditioned media from these studies was aliquoted and used as a source for endogenous IFN for inhibition experiments. No IFN activity was seen with preps prepared from IgG isolated from healthy volunteers.

Results Affinity to and Neutralization of Recombinant Type I IFNs

Table 2 shows dissociation constants (K_(D)) of antibodies M43, M88 and M3239 to individual recombinant human type I interferons (IFNs). M43, M88 and C2595 neutralized at least four IFNα molecules: alphaB2, alphaF, alphaG and alphaJ1. No binding was observed for alphaD.

Table 3 shows the IC₅₀ values for antibodies M43, M88 and M3239 (C2595) to individual recombinant human type I IFNs measured in a reporter gene assay. M43 was broadly neutralizing, inhibiting at least 10 IFNα molecules. M3239 neutralized IFNω with a sub pM IC₅₀ while M43 neutralized IFNω with an IC₅₀ in nM range. M88 did not demonstrate neutralizing activity towards IFNω in the specific assay due to its very weak binding of it. However, after affinity maturation, the antibodies derived from M88 showed strong IFNω neutralizing activity while retaining their broad IFNα neutralizing activities (data not shown). None of the antibodies bound or neutralized IFNβ.

TABLE 2 Antibody K_(D) (nM) Antigen M43 M88 M3239 IFNαA 0.1 14.9 NB IFNαB2 0.9 0.3 32.2 IFNαC 0.4 3.2 1.3 IFNαD NB NB NB IFNαF 0.9 1 15.1 IFNαG 0.6 0.8 10.3 IFNαH2 0.6 5.5 61.6 IFNαJ1 0.4 4.5 4.3 IFNαK 0.3 ND NB IFNαI ND ND ND IFNαWA 0.6 97.3 NB IFNα4a 1.7 23.3 NB IFNβ 8 NB NB IFNω 0.3 53 4.5 NB = no binding ND: not tested M3239: human/mouse chimeric IgG1 derived from c2595

TABLE 3 Antibody IC₅₀ (nM) Antigen M43 M88 C2595 IFNαA 0.1 NA NA IFNαB2 25.9 25.2 11.1 IFNαC 14.9 136.1 1.5 IFNαD NA NA NA IFNαF 3.7 24.6 2.6 IFNαG 5.3 23.4 2.6 IFNαH2 51 PA 20.3 IFNαJ1 1 21.9 1.4 IFNαK 10.4 NA NA IFNαI ND ND ND IFNαWA 9.2 NA NA IFNα4a 8.1 218.6 NA IFNβ NA NA NA IFNω 18.5 NA 0.9 NA: no neutralizing activity PA: partial neutralizing activity ND: not tested

Neutralization of Endogenous Type I IFN

The ability of the antibodies to neutralize endogenous Type I IFN was assessed in an assay evaluating the release of the chemokine IP-10 (CXCL10) from human whole blood stimulated with endogenous leukocyte IFN (viral induced) or recombinant IFNω. Dose-dependent inhibition of both leukocyte IFN (FIG. 1A) and recombinant IFNω (FIG. 1B) was seen with M43 and C2595 indicating the ability of the antibodies to neutralize activity of a wide spectrum of type I such as those produced by virally induced leukocytes. The endogenous leukocyte IFN was purchased from Sigma (catalogue number # I4784-1MU).

Neutralization of Disease Associated IFN Mileu

Antibodies were tested for their ability to reduce SLE immune complex-induced IFN as stimulus to better represent the type I IFN milieu present in SLE. SLE immune complex-induced IFN was prepared by stimulating human PBMCs with SLE patient-derived immune complexes and this conditioned media was utilized in a type I IFN-inducible reporter gene assay (ISRE reporter gene assay as described above) in the presence of inhibitor mAbs and control mAbs. The addition of a selective IFNω neutralizing mAb in combination with 3 different IFNα antagonist mAbs further reduced the total activity of immune complex-induced IFN in comparison to the anti IFNα mAbs in the presence of an equivalent amount of isotype control mAb (FIG. 2). Furthermore, anti IFNα/ω mAb M43 demonstrated further suppression of activity in comparison to IFNα inhibitor mAbs suggesting that dual blockade of IFNα and IFNω can reduce more total IFN activity than IFNα neutralization alone (FIG. 2).

IFNω Contributes to SLE Associated IFN Mileu

An assay for the SLE gene signature was developed as described above utilizing a combination of nine IFN-induced genes. The ability of various antibodies to inhibit the gene signature was tested. An IFNω specific antagonist mAb (anti-ω) downmodulated the IFN signature in comparison to an equivalent concentration of isotype control mAb, suggesting that IFN-ω is part of the active type I IFN milieu that induces an IFN signature in SLE. The combination of an IFNω antibody with an IFNα antibody resulted in more pronounced suppression of the IFN signature perpetuated in the blood of these patients than an IFNα or IFNω inhibitor alone (FIG. 3).

Example 4. Competitive Epitope Mapping

Epitope binding experiments were performed using real-time label-free competitive binding assays using Octet (ForteBio, Menlo Park, Calif.). Two assay formats were used: the in tandem assay format and the classic sandwich assay format.

In the in tandem assay format streptavidin biosensor tips (forteBio, Menlo Park, Calif.) were dipped into 0.5 μg/ml biotinlyted recombinant interferon for 5 minutes while the real-time kinetic signal was measured. Then the tips were dipped into the first set of mAbs (10 μg/ml) for 15 minutes. The tips were subsequently dipped into the second set of mAbs (10 μg/ml) for another 10 or 15 minutes. The positive binding signal from the tips dipped into the second set of mAbs shows their binding to different epitopes from the first set of mAbs and negative signal shows their binding to the same epitopes. To eliminate the false results due to the affinity difference of two sets of mAbs, the experiments were repeated with the reverse order, that is the tips were dipped into second set of mAbs first and then into first set of mAbs. All the antibodies and antigens were diluted into PBS with 1 mg/ml BSA and 0.02% Tween 20.

In the classic sandwich assay format the first set of mAbs were coupled on the amine reactive biosensor tips using standard NHS/EDC-mediated chemistry following manufacture's protocol (forteBio, Menlo Park, Calif.). After quenching for 5 minutes in ethanolamine, the tips were dipped into recombinant interferons (2 μg/ml) for 10 minutes before they were dipped into the 2nd set of mAbs (15 μg/ml) for 10 or 15 minutes. The coupling mAbs were diluted in MES buffer 6.0 while the binning mAbs and the antigens were diluted into PBS with 1 mg/ml BSA and 0.02% Tween 20.

Three epitope binning experiments were performed using both assay formats using the following antibodies: M43, M88 and C2595 (binding multiple IFNα subtypes and IFNω), C2601 and M42 (binds IFNω but weakly to IFNα subtypes), and C2605 (binding multiple IFNα subtypes but not IFNω). Various IFN-α molecules were tested in the competition assay (human IFNα subtypes IFNαA, IFNαB, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG, IFNαH, IFNαJ, IFNα2, IFNα4a, as well as chimp IFNω and human IFNAR2-Fc molecule.

Table 4 showns the results of competiton in the presence of M43 and Table 5 shows the competition in the presence of IFNAR2-Rc. M43 and M88 competed with each other for binding to all tested IFNα molecules and chimp IFNω. M42, which does not bind to IFNω did not compete for binding to the tested IFN-molecules with M43. M43 competed with C2595 and IFNAR-Fc for binding to chimp IFNω and various IFNα molecules. C2605 did not compete with binding with M43 to most IFNα, indicating that the two antibodies bind a different epitope. C2601, a strong IFNω binder but weak IFNα binder did not compete with binding with M43 to IFNω with M43, indicating the two antibodies bind a distinct epitope. C2595 but not C2601 or C2605 competed with binding to chimp IFNω and/or IFNαA with IFNAR2-Fc. The antibodies that bind IFNω and multiple IFNα subtypes and therefore define distinct epitope bins as follows: BinA: mabs M43, M88, C2595. Antibodies that bind only IFNα or IFNω form distinct epitope bin(s).

TABLE 4 Antibody or receptor fusion protein IFNaR2- Antigen M80 M88 M42 C2595 c2601* c2605** Fc IFNαA − NT + − + ++ − IFNαB NT − NT − − − − IFNαC NT − NT − − ++ − IFNαF NT − NT − + ++ − IFNαG NT − + − − ++ − IFNαH − − + − − ++ − IFNαJ NT − NT − − ++ − IFNα2 − NT NT − + ++ − IFNα4a NT − NT − − ++ − chimp − − NT − ++ − − IFNω “−” indicates no binding “+” or “++” indicated binding NT: not tested *c2601 does not bind to IFNaA with high affinity **c2605 does not bind to chimp IFNw

TABLE 5 Antigen Antibody Chimp IFNω IFNαA C2595 − − C2601 ++ −* C2605 −** ++ *c2601 does not bind to IFNaA with high affinity **c2605 does not bind to chimp IFNw

Example 5. Epitope of M43 Derived from the Crystal Structure of Anti-IFNα/ω Antibody M43 in Complex with IFNω T80E Mutant

IFWM43 (hereafter M43 and FabM43 for mAb and Fab, respectively) broadly neutralizes human IFNα molecules and IFNω and shows binding to a number of IFNα subtypes and human IFNω. In order to reveal the structural basis for its specificity to IFNα subtypes and IFNω the crystal structure of the IFN-w in complex with FabM43 was determined.

Materials and Methods Proteins

The His-tagged FabM43 (IgG1/κ isotype) and a human IFNω with T80E mutation (in this example IFNω and IFNωT80E are synonymous) were expressed in HEK293F cells and purified using affinity and size-exclusion chromatography. The proteins were in 20 mM Tris pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl.

Crystallization of IFNω/FabM43 Complex

The complex was prepared by mixing of IFNω with FabM43 in molar ratio of 1.05:1.0 (excess IFNω), purified over Superdex 200 column equilibrated with 20 mM Na acetate, pH 5.5, 0.1 M NaCL and 10% glycerol. The purified complex was concentrated to 10.24 mg/ml using Amicon-Ultra 10 kDa cutoff. Crystals suitable for X-diffraction were obtained in sitting drops from 0.1 M MES, pH 6.5, 26% PEG 3350, 1 M LiCL, 0.7% 1-butanol with MMS seeding as described (Obmolova et al., Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr 66:927-33, 2010).

X-Ray Data Collection and Structure Determination

For X-ray data collection, crystals were soaked for a few seconds in the synthetic mother liquor (0.1 MES pH 6.5, 20% PEG 3350, 1 M LiCL) supplemented with 20% glycerol, and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. X-ray diffraction data were collected at Swiss Light Source. The X-ray data were processed with the program XDS (Kabsch, Acta Crystallographica 66:125-132, 2010). X-ray data statistics are given in Table 6.

The structure was solved by molecular replacement (MR) with Phaser (Read, Acta Crystallogr D Bio Crystallogr 57:1373-82, 2001). The search models for MR were the crystal structure of Fab15 (PDB ID 3NCJ; Luo et al., J Mol Biol 402:708-719, 2010) and IFN-α2 (PDB ID 1RH2; Radhakrishnan et al., Structure 4:1453-1463, 1996)), the Ca model of which was available in the PDB. To use for MR, the complete molecular model of IFN-α2 was obtained by MR using Phaser with the Ca coordinates and reflection data in the PDB, and refined with PHENIX (Adams et al., J Syncrhrotron Radiat 11:53-55, 2004). The IFN-ω/FabM43 structure was refined using PHENIX and model adjustments were carried out using COOT (Emsley and Cowtan, Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr 60:2126-2132, 2004). All other crystallographic calculations were performed with the CCP4 suite of programs (Collaborative Computational project, Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr 53:240-255, 1994). The elbow angle between the variable and constant domains was calculated with the program RBOW (Stanfield et al., J Mol Biol 357:1566-1574, 2006). Molecular graphics were generated with PyMol (DeLano, Palo Alto, Calif., USA, Delano-Scientific). The structure refinement statistics are given in Table 6.

TABLE 6 Crystal data and refinement statistics. X-ray diffraction data Space group P2₁ Unit cell dimensions a, b, c (Å) 132.20, 107.35, 142.48 α, β, γ (°) 90, 101.96, 90 Asymmetric unit content 6 complexes Resolution (Å) 50.00-2.50 (2.56-2.50)^(d) No.measured reflections 357,014 (3,854)^(d) No.unique reflections 110,299 (1,929)^(d) Completeness (%) 82.1 (19.1)^(d) Redundancy 3.2 (2.0)^(d) R-merge^(a) 0.085 (0.404)^(d) <I/σ> (avg) 10.0 (2.1)^(d) B-factor (Wilson) (Å²) 51.3 Refinement Resolution (Å) 48.50-2.50 (2.58-2.50) R_(cryst)/R_(free)(%) ^(b) 23.4/27.7 (36.3/49.9) No. of reflections Working/Test set 109,900/1,610 Number of atoms Proteins 27,056 Solvent (water, etc.) 1,228 RMSD bond lengths (Å) 0.004 RMSD bond angles (°) 0.76 Mean B-facors (Å²) Protein 35.9 Solvent 36.2 Ramachandran plot^(c) Favored regions (%) 96.4 Outliers (%) 0.4 ^(a)R_(merge) = Σ|I − <I>|/ΣI, where I is the intensity of the measured reflection and <I> is the mean intensity of all measurements of this reflection. ^(b) R_(cryst) = Σ ||F_(obs)| − |F_(calc)||/Σ |F_(obs)|, where F_(obs) and F_(calc) are observed and calculated structure factors and R_(free) is calculated for a set of randomly chosen 5% of reflections prior to refinement. ^(c)The Ramachandran plot was calculated with MolProbity. ^(d)The anisotropic resolution limits in a*, b* and c* are 3.0, 2.5 and 2.5 Å, according to the diffraction anisotropy scale server (http://_services_mbi_ucla.edu/_anisoscale/). Diffraction data statistics are for the dataset after anisotropic truncation and scaling using these limits.

Results The Overall Structure

There are six IFNω/FabM43 complexes in the asymmetric unit. All of these complexes are very similar. The overall representative molecular structure of the IFNω/FabM43 complex is shown in FIG. 4. In the Figure: marked H is VH; marked L is VL, top left is IFNω

The IFNω molecules have essentially identical conformation with an average Cα rmsd of less than 0.35 Å. The molecular structure of IFNω is a helix bundle that is very similar to IFN-α2 with an average Ca rmsd of 0.53 Å and almost identical to the published IFN-ω (pdb id 3se4) with Ca rmsd of 0.47 Å and IFNβ (Ca rmsd 0.85 Å for 94 residues). However, there are some significant differences between IFNα/ω and IFN-β because the IFNβ AB loop is one residue shorter. The Fab molecules also have identical structures except for a short stretch in CDR-H1 (G₂₆GTF₂₉) (SEQ ID NO: 33), which adopts slightly different backbone conformations.

The Epitope, Paratope and Ab/Ag Interactions

M43 recognizes a comformational epitope that is composed of residues of the AB loop (between R22 and Q40) and residues K134, M146, M149, K150, F153 and L154 of helix E (Table 7). The paratope is composed of residues from five of the six CDRs. The paratope residues are mainly hydrophobic, which form a series of pockets into which dock the side chains of residues F27, L30, K31 and R33 of the short AB helix. The antibody and antigen interactions appear to be mostly vdw and hydrophobic packing. There are only a small number of H bonds between the antibody and antigen, and most of them involve backbone-backbone or sidechain-backbone interactions. Several residues F27, L30, K31 and R33 of the AB helix account for the majority of the Ab/Ag interactions. Thus, this region of IFNω appears to constitute the main part of the epitope.

TABLE 7 Epitope and paratope of antibody M43. Contact residues for all six complexes are shown. Residue numbering according to human IFNω SEQ ID NO: 1 ABO CDP EFQ GHR IJX KJT VL: Y31 Y31 Y31 Y31 Y31 Y31 S33 S33 S33 S33 S33 S33 Y38 Y38 Y38 Y38 Y38 Y38 F98 F98 F98 F98 F98 F98 D99 D99 D99 D99 D99 D99 Y102 Y102 Y102 Y102 Y102 Y102 VH: T28 F29 F29 F29 F29 F29 F29 S30 S30 S30 S30 S31 S31 S31 S31 S31 S31 Y32 Y32 Y32 A33 A33 A33 A33 A33 A33 G50 G50 G50 G50 G50 G50 I51 I52 I52 I52 I52 I52 I54 I54 F55 F55 F55 F55 F55 F55 T57 T57 T57 T57 T57 T57 A58 A58 A58 A58 A58 A58 N59 N59 N59 N59 N59 N59 D99 D99 D99 D99 D99 D99 W101 W101 W101 W101 W101 W101 Y105 Y105 Y105 Y105 Y105 Y105 IFN-ω R22 R22 R22 R22 P26 P26 P26 P26 P26 P26 F27 F27 F27 F27 F27 F27 L30 L30 L30 L30 L30 L30 K31 K31 K31 K31 K31 K31 D32 D32 D32 D32 D32 D32 R33 R33 R33 R33 R33 R33 R34 R34 R34 R34 R34 R34 D35 D35 D35 D35 D35 D35 Q40 Q40 Q40 Q40 Q40 K134 K134 K134 K134 K134 K134 M146 M146 M146 M146 M146 M146 M149 M149 M149 M149 K150 K150 K150 K150 K150 F153 F153 F153 F153 F153 F153 L154 L154 L154 L154 L154 L154

All residues within 3.9 Å of the binding partners are considered contact residues. Antibody VL and VH residues are numbered sequentially.

Mode of Antibody Neutralization

The crystal structure of IFNα/ω in complex with IFNAR1 and/or IFNAR2 has recently been reported (Thomas et al., Cell 146:621-632, 2011). Comparing the M43/IFNα4 structure and IFNω/IFNAR1/IFNAR2 complex indicates clearly that M43 heavy chain and IFNAR2 would overlap. Thus, M43 neutralizes by blocking IFNAR2/IFN interactions.

Example 6. Epitope of C2595 from the Crystal Structures of Fab357 (Fab of C2595) in Complexes with IFNωT80E or IFNα4A

C2595 (hereafter C2595 and Fab357 for mAb and Fab, respectively) is an antibody that neutralizes multiple human IFN-α molecules and IFNω obtained from mouse hybrodima. The V regions were cloned and chimerized onto human heavy and light chains (IgG1κ isotype) to produce the recombinant Fab357. The crystal structures of the IFN-ω/Fab357 and IFN-α4A/Fab357 complexes were determined.

Materials and Method Proteins

The His-tagged Fab357 isotype) and a human IFNω with T80E mutation (hereafter IFNωT80E. IFNω and IFNω with T80E are synonymous in this example) were expressed in HEK293F cells and purified using affinity, and size-exclusion chromatography. The proteins were in 20 mM Tris pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl.). IFNα4A was obtained from Crown Bioscience Inc. in 20 mM Tris pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl.

Crystallization of IFNα4A/Fab357 and IFNω/Fab357 Complexes

The IFNα4A/Fab357 complex were prepared by mixing of IFNα4A with Fab357 in molar ratio of 1.05:1.0, and purified over a SuperDex 200 column in 20 mM MES pH 6.5 with 0.1 M NaCL. The purified complex was concentrated to 5.5 mg/ml. Diffraction quality crystal were grown in sitting drops composed of equal mixture of the protein solution and 20% PEG 3350 and 0.2 M ammonium citrate with seeding.

The IFNω/Fab357 complex was prepared by mixing of IFNω with Fab357 in molar ratio of 1.17:1.0 (excess IFNω), incubated at 4° C. for 2 hr, and the IFNω/Fab357 complex was purified on Superdex 200 column (GE Healthcare) equilibrated with 20 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 0.1 M NaCL and concentrated to 6.8 mg/ml. Crystals suitable for X-diffraction were obtained from sitting drops composed of equal mixture of the protein complex and 100 mM MES pH 6.5, 18% PEG 3K, 0.2 M LiCl with seeding.

X-Ray Data Collection and Structure Determination

For X-ray data collection, crystals of IFNα4A/Fab357 and IFNω/Fab357 were soaked for a few seconds in the synthetic mother liquors (20% PEG 3350, 0.2 M Ammonium citrate, Plate 10/20/11-MMS-A10; 0.1 MES pH 6.5, 18% PEG 3350, 0.2 M LiCL, Plate 12/21/2011-B11(R), respectively) supplemented with 20% glycerol, and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. The X-ray diffraction data were collected at Advance Photon Source of Argonne National Lab and Swiss Light Source, respectively. The X-ray data were processed with the program XDS. X-ray data statistics are given in Table 8.

The structures were solved by molecular replacement (MR) with Phaser. The search models for MR were the crystal structure of Fab15 (PDB ID 3NCJ) and IFNω in the complex with M43. The structures were refined using PHENIX⁵ and model adjustments were carried out using COOT. All other crystallographic calculations were performed with the CCP4 suite of programs. Molecular graphics were generated with PyMol. The structure refinement statistics are given in Table 8.

TABLE 8 Crystal data and refinement statistics. X-ray diffraction data IFNα4A/Fab357 IFNω/Fab357 Space group P6₅22 C222₁ Unit cell dimensions a, b, c (Å) 156.07, 156.07, 122.81 70.23, 104.33, 155.38 α, β, γ (°) 90, 90, 120 90, 90, 90 Asymmetric unit content 1 complex 1 complex Resolution (Å) 50.00-2.30 (2.36-2.30) 50.00-2.20 (2.26-2.20) No.measured reflections 260,405 (19,875) 193,190 (13,207) No.unique reflections 39,577 (2,888) 29,394 (2,143) Completeness (%) 99.9 (100.0) 99.9 (99.9) Redundancy 6.6 (6.9) 6.6 (6.2) R-merge^(a) 0.059 (0.618) 0.056 <I/σ> (avg) 20.0 (3.3) 0.539 B-factor (Wilson) (Å²) 45.2 45.2 Refinement Resolution (Å) 39.30-2.30 (2.36-2.30) 43.31-2.20 (2.26-2.20) R_(cryst)/R_(free)(%) ^(b) 19.3/23.6 (25.4/31.1) 20.0/25.0 (22.1/28.3) No. of reflections Working/Test set 37,572/1,998 27,390/2,000 Number of atoms Proteins 4,555 3,785 Solvent (water, etc.) 198 180 RMSD bond lengths (Å) 0.008 0.005 RMSD bond angles (°) 1.12 0.95 Mean B-facors (Å²) Protein 48.4 45.6 Solvent 42.3 43.3 Ramachandran plot^(c) Favored regions (%) 96.2 96.5 Outliers (%) 0.4 0.2 All atom Clashscore 9.8 8.9 ^(a)R_(merge) = Σ|I − <I>|/ΣI, where I is the intensity of the measured reflection and <I> is the mean intensity of all measurements of this reflection. ^(b) R_(cryst) = Σ ||F_(obs)| − |F_(calc)||/Σ |F_(obs)|, where F_(obs) and F_(calc) are observed and calculated structure factors and R_(free) is calculated for a set of randomly chosen 5% of reflections prior to refinement. The Ramachandran plot was calculated with MolProbity.

Results The Overall Structure

There is one antigen/antibody complex in the asymmetric unit in both crystal structures. The overall representative molecular structures are shown in FIG. 5. The Fab molecule is very similar in both crystals. The IFNα4A conformation is very similar to that in IFNα4A/FabM88. For the IFNω/Fab357 structure, the IFNω model includes only residues R22-P39 and L118-L154. The missing residues of IFNω are not a result of disorder in the crystal because crystal packing precludes their presence. Apparently, proteolytic cleavage of IFNω occurred during crystallization. There was evidence that part of the same complex sitting in the cold box had suffered some protease degradation, though the pattern was not identical to what was identified in the crystal (data not shown). Nevertheless, the binding regions of IFNω were well ordered.

The Epitope, Paratope and Ab/Ag Interactions

C2595 recognizes a nearly identical conformational epitope on both IFNα4A and IFNω that is composed of residues of the AB loop (between R/G22 and R/H34) and residues V143, M/A146, E147 and R/K150 of helix E (Table 9). The paratope is composed of residues from four of the six CDRs (CDR-L1, L3, H2 and H3). The paratope residues are mainly hydrophobic, which form a series of pockets into which dock the side chains of residues F27, L30, K31 and R33 of the short AB helix. The antibody and antigen interactions appear to be mostly vdw and hydrophobic packing. There are only a small number of H bonds between the antibody and antigen, and most of them involve backbone-backbone or sidechain-backbone interactions. Several residues F27, L30, K31 and R33 of the AB helix account for the majority of the Ab/Ag interactions. Thus, this region of IFNω appears to constitute the main part of the epitope.

TABLE 9 Epitope and paratope of antibody C2595. Contact residues for all six complexes are shown. Residues numbering according to IFN-ω SEQ ID NO: 1 and IFN-α4a of SEQ ID NO: 19. Paratope Epitope IFNω/Fab357 IFNα4A/Fab357 IFNω IFNα4A VL: G22 H31 H31 R23 R23 N33 N33 I24 I24 Y37 Y37 S25 S25 N96 N96 P26 H26 L97 L97 F27 F27 L99 L99 C29 L30 L30 VH: K31 K31 I50 I50 R33 R33 T52 R34 H34 Y57 Y57 V143 T58 T58 M146 A146 Y59 Y59 E147 E147 E101 K150 R150 G103 G103 G104 G104 N105 N105 Y106 Y106 Y108 Y108

All residues within 3.9 Å of the binding partners are considered contact residues. Antibody VL and VH residues are numbered sequentially.

Mode of Antibody Neutralization

C2595 neutralizes by blocking IFNAR2/IFN interactions.

Example 7. Epitope of M88 Derived from the Crystal Structure of Anti-IFNα Antibody M88 in Complex with IFNα4A

The crystal structure of the anti-IFN antibody M88 in complex with IFNα4A was determined to 2.5 Å. The main epitope is the helical element A19-D35 of the AB loop of IFN. Binding of M88 will prevent IFNAR2 interactions. Thus, M88 is an IFNAR2 blocker. The structure sheds light on M88 binding cross-reactivity.

IFWM88 (hereafter M88 and FabM88 for mAb and Fab, respectively) is an antibody that neutralizes human IFNα. The M88 mAb shows binding to a number of IFNα subtypes, but little binding to human IFNω.

Materials and Methods Proteins

The His-tagged FabM88 (IgG1/kappa isotype) was cloned and expressed in HEK293F cells and purified using affinity, and size-exclusion chromatography. The Fab was received in 20 mM Tris pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl. IFNα4A was obtained from Crown Bioscience Inc. (in 20 mM Tris pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl.

Crystallization of IFNα4A/FabM88 Complex

The complex was prepared by mixing of IFNα4A with FabM88 in molar ratio of 1.05:1.0 (excess IFNα4A), incubated at 4° C. for one hour, 20 fold diluted with 20 mM Tris pH 8.0, 10% glycerol, 0.1M NaCl, then concentrated to 9.25 mg/ml using Amicon-Ultra 10 kDa cutoff. Initial crystallization was set up with IH1, IH2 and PEGs suite (Qiagen). Crystallization of the complex was carried out by the vapor-diffusion method at 20° C. using an Oryx4 robot (Douglas Instruments). Crystals appeared from IH2#E12—25% PEG 3K, 0.2M ammonium citrate. These initial crystals were used to prepare crystallization seeds. To improve crystal quality, the IFNα4A/FabM88 complex was purified on Superdex 200 column (GE Healthcare) equilibrated with 20 mm MES pH 6.5, 0.1 M NaCl, 10% glycerol and concentrated to 8.16 mg/ml. Crystals suitable for X-diffraction were obtained from 28% PEG 3K, 0.2M ammonium citrate with MMS seeding as described (Obmolova et al., Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr 66:927-935, 2010).

X-Ray Data Collection and Structure Determination

For X-ray data collection, one crystal was soaked for a few seconds in the mother liquor supplemented with 20% glycerol, and flash frozen in the stream of nitrogen at 95 K. X-ray diffraction data were collected using a Rigaku MicroMax™-007HF microfocus X-ray generator equipped with an Osmic™ VariMax™ confocal optics, Saturn 944 CCD detector, and an X-Stream™ 2000 cryocooling system (Rigaku, Tex.). Diffraction intensities were detected over a 235° crystal rotation in half-degree images. The X-ray data were processed with the program XDS. X-ray data statistics are given in Table 10.

The structure was solved by molecular replacement (MR) with Phaser. The search models for MR were the crystal structure of Fab15 (PDB ID 3NCJ) and IFNα2 (PDB ID 1RH2, the Ca model of which was available in the PDB. To use for MR, the complete molecular model of IFNα2 was obtained by MR using Phaser with the Ca coordinates and reflection data in the PDB, and refined with PHENIX. The IFNα4A/FabM88 structure was refined using PHENIX and model adjustments were carried out using COOT. All other crystallographic calculations were performed with the CCP4 suite of programs. The elbow angle between the variable and constant domains was calculated with the program RBOW. All molecular graphics were generated with PyMol. The structure refinement statistics are given in Table 10.

TABLE 10 Crystal data and refinement statistics. Crystal data Space group P1 Unit cell dimensions a, b, c (Å) 41.92, 84.71, 102.53 α, β, γ (°) 97.68, 90.12, 98.54 Asymmetric unit content 2 complexes V_(m) (Å³/Da) 2.62 X-ray data Resolution (Å) 50-2.5 (2.58-2.50)^(a) Number of measured reflections 83,604 (1,217) Number of unique reflections 34,097 (588) Completeness (%) 72.1 (16.7)^(b) Redundancy 2.5 (2.1) R-merge 0.43 (0.452) <I/σ> 18.0 (1.9) B-factor (Wilson plot) (Å²) 43.8 Refinement Resolution (Å) 30.6-2.5 (2.58-2.50) Number of refls used in refinement 34,095 (640) Completeness (%) 72.2 Number of all atoms 8,844 Number of water molecules 149 Rcryst (%) 21.1 (42.8) Rfree (%) 27.3 (56.6) RMSD bond lengths (Å) 0.003 RMSD bond angles (°) 0.67 RMSD B-factor main-chain (Å²) 6.6 Mean B-factor (Å²) 47.4 MolProbity [25] Clash score 9.8 Poor rotamers (%) 3.9 Ramachandran favored (%) 94.4 Ramachandran outliers (%) 0.6 Cβ deviation > 0.25 Å 0 ^(a)Values for high-resolution shell are in parentheses. ^(b)Low completeness because the highest resolution shells only contain the reflections in the comers of the detector.

Results The Overall Structure

The overall molecular structure of the IFNα4A/FabM88 complex is shown in FIG. 6. There are two of these complexes in the asymmetric unit. The molecular models for the two independent IFNα4A molecules include residues 7-102 and 113-160 for one and 12-102 and 113-160 for the other. The connecting loop between residues 103 and 112 in both molecular is disordered. The two Fab molecules contain residues from 1 to 212 for the light chain and from 1 to 221 for the heavy chain. The C-terminal 6×His tag and inter-chain disulfide bond are disordered.

The two IFNα4A molecules have essentially identical conformation with an average rmsd of 0.132 Å for 122 Ca atoms. The two Fab molecules also have identical structures with an average rmsd of less than 0.5 Å for the entire Fab. Interestingly, the two Fabs have nearly identical elbow angles (172 and 174 degrees) according to RBOW.

IFNα Structure

The molecular structure of IFNα4A (FIG. 7A) is very similar to IFNα2 with an average Ca rmsd of 0.5 to 0.7 Å. It is also very similar to IFNω (FIG. 7B, Ca rmsd of 0.61 Å for 112 residues) and IFNβ (Figure FIG. 7C, Ca rmsd 0.85 Å for 94 residues). There are some significant differences between IFNα/ω and IFNβ due to one shorter residue in IFNβ AB loop (FIG. 7D).

The Epitope, Paratope and Ab/Ag Interactions

M88 recognizes a comformational epitope that is composed of residues of the AB loop (between A19 and D35) and residues V143, A146, E147 and R150 of helix E (Table 11). The paratope is composed of residues from all six CDRs. The paratope residues are mainly hydrophobic, which form a series of pockets into which dock the side chains of residues F27, L30, K31 and R33 of the short AB helix. The antibody and antigen interactions appear to be mostly vdw and hydrophobic packing. There are only a small number of H bonds between the antibody and antigen, and most of them involve backbone-backbone or sidechain-backbone interactions. Several residues F27, L30, K31 and R33 of the AB helix account for the majority of the Ab/Ag interactions. Thus, this region of IFNα4A constitutes the main part of the epitope. F50 of VL is not in direct contact with the antigen in the structure. But its sidechain is in the vicinity of Y32 (VL) and P105 (VH), which are involved in binding. Perhaps this residue was selected for its support of the CDR-H3 local structure to favor binding.

TABLE 11 Epitope and paratope of antibody M88. PARATOPE EPITOPE LHI ABJ LHI ABJ VL IFNa4A Y32 Y32 A19 A19 S91 S91 H26 Y92 Y92 F27 F27 S93 S93 L30 L30 T94 T94 K31 K31 L96 L96 D32 D32 VH R33 R33 W47 W47 H34 H34 G50 G50 D35 D35 I51 I51 V143 V143 I52 A146 A146 F55 F55 E147 E147 N59 N59 M149 H99 H99 R150 R150 L100 L100 S153 G101 G101 Y102 Y102 A103 A103 F104 F104 P105 P105 D106 D106

All residues within 3.9 Å of the binding partners are considered contact residues. Antibody VL and VH residues are numbered sequentially. LHI and ABJ represent the two complexes.

Structure-Based Design of Libraries to Improve for Cross-Reactivity and Affinity

M88 binds strongly a number of IFNα subtypes, but binds weakly to IFNω. Two strategies are possible based upon the current complex structure as well as molecular modeling using the IFNω structures. One strategy is to extend the CDR-L1 (extL1 library) by creating additional Ab/Ag interactions while maintaining all of the current contacts in the IFNα4A/M88 structure. Structural and sequence comparison show that a 5 residue surface patch (D32, H34, D35, Y130 and K134) is conserved 100% among all IFNα subtypes (Table 12).

TABLE 12 Residues 32-35 Residues 130-134 Sequence SEQ ID NO: Sequence SEQ ID NO: IFNα DRHD 34 YLxEK 36 IFNω DRRD 35 YLKEK 37 Four of these 5 residues are also conserved except R34 instead of H34 in IFNω. The CDR-L1 is distant from this well conserved surface patch. It is thus hypothesized that a longer CDR-L1, for example, that of germline IGKV4-1 (B3) which has an additional 6 residues in a 3-1-1 canonical structure, will be long enough to contact this patch. The longer CDR-L1 would provide additional interactions to all IFNα subtypes and IFNω, thus improving both affinity and broadening specificity. The sequence of the extended CDR-L1 can be optimized by phage display from a library. The design on the phage display library is shown in Table 13. Positions of extL1 facing away from the antigen are not randomized. Position F50 of VL is the only non-human germline residue. Structurally it appears to provide support for CDR-L3. Thus, this position is also randomized to optimize its support of the extended CDR-L1.

TABLE 13 Sequence SEQ ID NO: M88 SQSIS      SYL 38 M32 SQSVLYSSNNKNYL 39 extL1 SQSVLXSXXNXNYL 40 X is any amino acid

Mode of Antibody Neutralization

The crystal structure of IFNα/ω in complex with IFNAR1 and/or IFNAR2 has recently been reported (Thomas et al., Cell 146:621-632, 2011). FIG. 8 shows the overlay of M88/IFNα4 onto IFNω/IFNAR1/IFNA2 complex. It is clear that HC and IFNAR2 would overlap. Thus, M88 neutralizes by blocking IFNAR2/IFN interactions.

Example 8. Minimal Epitope on IFNα and IFNω Provides Broad IFNα/IFNω Neutralizing Activity

The crystal structures of the IFNωT80E/FabM43, IFNα4A/FabM88, IFNα4A/Fab357 (c2595) and IFNω/Fab357 define a minimal common epitope required for broad neutraliziation of IFNω and multiple IFNα subtypes (Table 14). Analyses of the antibody/antigen interaction of the four crystal structures indicate that three residues in the AB loop in IFNα4a (SEQ ID NO: 19) and IFNω (SEQ ID NO: 1), F27, L30 and R33 form extensive contacts with the antibodies. These residues likely provide predominant contributions to antibody binding. Thus, F27, L30 and R33 are key elements of the IFNω/IFNα cross-neutralization epitope.

The conformational epitope is composed of residues from the AB loop (residues 22-34 of IFNω of SEQ ID NO:1 and of IFNα4a of SEQ ID NO: 19) with a short helical segment (27-29) and of residues in the helical E (134-154 is the helical E same residues for IFNω and all IFNα subtypes except IFNα2, which is 133-153). In particular, positions P26, F27, L30, K31, R33 and H34 of IFNω of SEQ ID NO:1 and residues H26, F27, L30, K31, R33 and H34 of IFNα4a of SEQ ID NO:19 are recognized by the neturalizing antibodies. These residues are largely conserved between various IFNα subtypes and IFNω, thus accounting for the cross-reactivity and differential specificity of these antibodies, although they come from different sources. Additional epitope residues are R22, R23, I24, S25, D32, D35, M149, K150 or L154 of IFNω and residues A19, G22, R23, 124, S25, H26, F27, C29, L30, K31, D32, R33, H34, D35, V143, A146, E147, M149, R150 or S153 of IFNα4a.

TABLE 14 Epitopes M43on M88 on C2595 on C2595 on IFN ω IFNα4a IFNα4a IFNω A19 R22 G22 R23 R23 I24 I24 S25 S25 P26 H26 H26 P26 F27 F27 F27 F27 C29 L30 L30 L30 L30 K31 K31 K31 K31 D32 D32 R33 R33 R33 R33 R34 H34 H34 R34 D35 D35 Q40 K134 V143 V143 M146 A146 A146 M146 E147 E147 E147 M149 M149 K150 R150 R150 K150 F153 S153 L154 

We claim: 1) An isolated monoclonal antibody that binds human interferon omega (IFNω) at least at residues R22, R23, I24, S25, P26, F27, L30, K31, D32, R33, R34, D35, Q40, K134, M146, E147, M149, K150, F153 and L154 of SEQ ID NO: 1, and at least one IFNα4a residue selected from the group consisting of A19, G22, R23, I24, S25, H26, F27, C29, L30, K31, D32, R33, H34, D35, V143, A146, E147, M149, R150 and S153 of SEQ ID NO: 19, wherein the antibody neutralizes an activity of IFNαA, IFNαH2, IFNαK, IFNαWA, IFNα4a, IFNω, IFNαB2, IFNαC, IFNαF, IFNαG and IFNαJ1 and the antibody does not bind or neutralize human IFNαD. 2) The antibody of claim 1, wherein the activity is inhibition of secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) expression under the interferon inducible ISG54 promoter in HEK293 cells stably expressing signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (STAT2), interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) and SEAP. 3) The antibody of claim 2, wherein the antibody neutralizes the activity of IFNω with an IC₅₀ value of between about 0.9×10⁻⁹ M and about 1.85×10⁻⁸ M. 4) The antibody of claim 3, wherein the antibody binds IFNω with a dissociation constant (K_(D)) of between about 0.3×10⁻⁹ M and about 4.5×10⁻⁹ M, wherein the K_(D) is measured using SPR technology with ProteOn (Bio-Rad Hercules, Calif.), with antibody loaded on an antibody coupled chip for 2 minutes at a flow rate of 30 μl/min, washing with running buffer for 2 minutes at a flow rate of 50 μl/ml, and associating recombinant IFN proteins at 5 different concentrations ranging from 100 nM to 1.23 nM with 1:3 dilution were for 3 minutes and dissociating for 10 minutes, both at the flow rate of 50 μl/ml. 5) An antibody that binds human interferon omega (IFNω), wherein the antibody competes for binding to IFNω and IFNα subtypes IFNαB2, IFNαF, IFNαG and/or IFNαJ1 with an isolated antibody. comprising: a) a heavy chain variable region (VH) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23 and a light chain variable region (VL) amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24; or b) a VH amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 and a VL amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 28. 6) The antibody of claim 1, wherein the antibody inhibits an activity of viral-induced leukocyte interferon, wherein the activity of viral-induced leukocyte interferon is IP-10 release in whole blood induced by 100 U/ml of interferon. 7) The antibody of claim 6, wherein the activity is inhibited by more than 50% in the presence of 50 μg/ml antibody. 8) The antibody of claim 1, wherein the antibody does not bind or neutralize human interferon-β (IFNβ). 9) The antibody of claim 8, wherein the antibody is human, humanized or human-adapted. 10) The antibody of claim 9, wherein the antibody is of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4 isotype. 11) The antibody of claim 10, wherein the antibody is bispecific. 12) The antibody of claim 11, wherein the antibody binds BLyS, CD40L, IL-6, CD27, BDCA2 or the p40 subunit of IL-12 or IL-23. 13) A pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically accepted carrier. 